My realtor has gone from a proactive go-getter to a neglectful, smarmy do nothing. I need to sell my condo (I know the market is bad) but it's a nice place in great condition and priced in line with others in the market. How can I get it to move quicker? [more inside]posted by jkl345 at 10:24 PM PST - 17 comments

My wife wants a pink laptop. Not just a pink laptop, but a really lightweight pink laptop (preferably 3-4 lbs or less). I've gone crazy googling for it and there doesn't seem to be such a beast. I seem to remember seeing pink Sony Vaios at the local Sony store (I could've sworn it was the TX series) but the only color for TX's on the Sony site is Sienna. Close but not quite. The Sony C series has a pink model, but it's on the heavier side.
It doesn't have to be super-fast or anything, just fast enough for Outlook, web browsing, etc. Does such a computer exist currently? posted by edjusted at 9:57 PM PST - 27 comments

RelationshipFilter: How do my wife and I solve the Christmas family dilemma? Specifically, I'm looking for advice and suggestions on how we decide which family to visit each year. Of course, it's more complicated than that... [more inside]posted by ranglin at 9:12 PM PST - 29 comments

Problem in iMovie: When I select an imported photo and click on "Show Photo Settings", i.e. to apply the Ken Burns effect, my photo changes colours to reds and oranges. It changes back if I click "Hide Photo Options".
Does anyone know how to fix this? [more inside]posted by The Coach LD at 9:08 PM PST - 4 comments

I am planning a trip to Mar Del Plata, Argentina, in October (World Wind Energy Conference). I am looking for some advice on actually getting to Mar Del Plata (from Toronto), and for places to stay and things to see. Thanks in advance! [more inside]posted by Cyrie at 8:56 PM PST - 2 comments

Is there any reason (other than privacy) not to use OpenDNS? I just discovered the service today and while I generally don't think I need protection from phishing sites and the like, this seems like a good solution for the less savvy members of my family and circle of friends. [more inside]posted by randy_stewart at 6:27 PM PST - 12 comments

Why does my dog have a fear of storm drain openings along curbs and gutters? I have a small (10 lb) dog who absolutely will not walk past a gaping storm drain. On our walks, every time we encounter a drain, I have to pick her up and carry her past. Any ideas why she has this fear, and any suggestions on how to cure her of it? posted by retiree at 5:46 PM PST - 19 comments

For several months now, I have had a bizarre phobia of opening my mailbox. I only open it once every few weeks, grab what's inside, and throw it in a pile in my apartment. Then after I pay the bills, I don't really look at anything else. It's like I am afraid of what's inside, some collection bill (I've never had a credit problem) or something. I can't put my finger on it... [more inside]posted by sweetkid at 5:25 PM PST - 33 comments

How do you say "good luck" and "Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out" in Norwegian? Bonus points for any hilarious Norwegian turns of phrase to welcome a friend into retirement. posted by Foam Pants at 2:58 PM PST - 7 comments

Can anyone tell me the significance of this book? My library has suddenly been inundated with ILL requests for it, but it would appear that our copy has been stolen. As you can see on the Amazon listing, it sells for over $1000, but why? What is this book? Why should it be so valuable? And why all of a sudden? posted by foxinthesnow at 2:48 PM PST - 22 comments

DC area fossil hunting day trip - I'm trying to set one up for several families with children between 5 and 9. We live in NoVA, but we're willing to drive a few hours if we have to. [more inside]posted by Irontom at 1:29 PM PST - 7 comments

Help this East Bay resident and driver of 580 get home! Where can I find a map that shows all the exits on 880 for my alternate route? [more inside]posted by otherwordlyglow at 1:12 PM PST - 12 comments

"Professional reference letter" from my current employer. What does it mean in this context? And how can I get this without them knowing I'm looking elsewhere? [more inside]posted by gazole at 12:13 PM PST - 9 comments

How many American soldiers who served in this Iraq war have died since leaving Iraq (German hospitals, American hospitals, at home etc.) ? [more inside]posted by specialk420 at 12:01 PM PST - 7 comments

I have a friend who's husband is going in for heart surgery tomorrow. He is a young guy, about 30 years old, He is an extremely athletic outdoorsy type of person, (helicopter skiing, mountain biking, workouts at least 3x a week) He is also one of those guys that don't want any one to visit or call and hates medication, hospitals, doctors. So this is not going to be fun for him, or for his wife. I wanted to know in the hives opinion what I can do to support, say, give during all of this. [more inside]posted by brinkzilla at 11:55 AM PST - 12 comments

I've been running my blog for many years now and it's come to my attention that I'm dead without an RSS feed. I've used Dreamweaver to design and edit the site all these years and have tried to figure out ways to incorporate an RSS feed when I update, but I haven't found an easy way to do that thus far (XO is my host.)
I may be wrong but I think I need to just transfer the whole thing to a new platform like Moveable Type or something like that--is it just easiest to hire someone to do this for me? How would I go about this and how much would it cost? Or are there better ways to do this? Help! posted by clairezulkey at 11:23 AM PST - 10 comments

I've always had a problem with pulling my beard hair out similar to other people's problems with biting their fingernails. This sort of behavior also runs in my family. What can I do to stop? [more inside]posted by JacksonEsquire at 10:39 AM PST - 17 comments

I'm stuck in a contracting loop and I need career advice :(
I'm about to finish up a 9 month contract at a major pharmaceutical. I was on contract for 6-months and got extended the final 3. Before that I was out of work for a few months after being laid off from my previous job. That involved supporting remote synchronization software as well as SQL work. I graduated with a major in Information Studies and I've worked help desk positions in the past. [more inside]posted by PetiePal at 10:23 AM PST - 6 comments

What's the name for planting slightly different details into multiple copies of a document or memo to track who is leaking information from an organization? [more inside]posted by Kip at 9:26 AM PST - 21 comments

We're naming our new daughter this weekend, in front of family, friends, and coworkers. Any suggestions of lyrics/poetry/prose that would be appropriately inspirational and awesome? Something with the message: "Welcome to the world, now go kick some ass!" (in a compassionate, empowering sense, not an Ultimate Fighter sense, unless that's what she wants to be when she grows up...) [more inside]posted by ericbop at 6:42 AM PST - 14 comments

Where do "laugh tracks" come from? Are they recorded especially or stolen from a genuine performance? Would it be possible to track laugh tracks in the same way that, for example, the WilhelmScream has been? posted by twine42 at 5:16 AM PST - 14 comments

I'd like to buy a rig w/as many features to help me learn the intermediates of photography to supplement a class I plan on taking after becoming more familiar. [more inside]posted by prodevel at 2:27 AM PST - 19 comments

Have you purposefully changed your standard of beauty? If so, how did you do it?
I want to redefine what I find beautiful, and I don’t know how to accomplish it. [more inside]posted by esilenna at 2:11 AM PST - 65 comments

Name this San Francisco Neighborhood! I'm in the process of moving from Chicago to SF and am considering an apartment on Geary between Baker and Lyon. It's been described as being in "Lower Pacific Heights", but I've since learned that this is something of a misnomer - a way for realtors to make the place sound more impressive than it is. So where is this apartment in actuality? [more inside]posted by aladfar at 8:17 PM PST - 21 comments

Each year I get a couple pairs of sandals for summer, and each year they start to smell bad in no time. And they make my feet smell terrible too. It doesn't seem to matter what brand or material. What can I do to be totally rid of this problem while still wearing sandals and no socks every day? Is there some spray/ointment I can use on my feet/sandals each morning/night? Or what? posted by debacle at 8:15 PM PST - 23 comments

So, governments control inflation (and their economy in general) by limiting how much money they print and put into circulation. But now that most transacations (and virtually all 'major' transactions) are done electronically, and that most countries aren't tied to gold anymore, how can the amount of physical cash have any effect? posted by Kololo at 8:13 PM PST - 13 comments

I am going back to school after a 3 year break. Help me think out of the box in terms of employment opportunities (while I am in college) that have working hours between 4:30 pmish and 1 amish. [more inside]posted by crewshell at 6:40 PM PST - 19 comments

Inspired by mrunderhill's question below, I also get moody, but it occurs maybe an hour or so after eating too much, particularly too much of something starchy or sweet. What's wrong with me? I'd guess sugar crash, but it occurs sooner than I would have expected, and eating more doesn't help at all, in fact, it seems to make it worse. [more inside]posted by DarkForest at 3:39 PM PST - 11 comments

I need help establishing a bocce schedule for 31 teams to play 3 days a week on two courts in 3 time slots (9:30 am; 10:30 am & 11:30 am.
James Nuti
Jimandcookie@comcast.net posted by Sunrise Bay at 2:50 PM PST - 5 comments

My partner and I are thinking about buying an old mechanic's shop and converting it into a home, but we need a little visual inspiration. Where can I find images (books, magazines, websites) of garages turned living spaces? And, does anyone have advice about commercial to residential remodeling? posted by B-squared at 2:20 PM PST - 10 comments

dSLRfilter: Which Nikon should I buy? D40, D50, or D70s? I've been thinking of purchasing a dSLR for some time now, and I'm seriously thinking of buying one very soon, but I can't seem to make up my mind. My body budget is limited since decent glass costs a lot of money, so I'm looking at a new D40 or a refurb D50 or D70s. [more inside]posted by wierdo at 12:24 PM PST - 27 comments

I get very moody if I don't eat in the morning. If I don't eat until 3-4pm I get headaches, drowsiness and feel nauseous.. I think I've always had this. Since I usually eat enough it doesn't really bother me. I'm 21, male, and a vegetarian. What do I have? posted by mrunderhill at 11:46 AM PST - 30 comments

I have a question about the interpretation of the CAN-SPAM laws. Specifically about the interpretation of: "(ii) the electronic mail address of the recipient was obtained using an automated means that generates possible electronic mail addresses by combining names, letters, or numbers into numerous permutations."[more inside]posted by anonymous at 11:28 AM PST - 12 comments

Zillions of billionaire characters in fiction try to buy their way out of dying by funding crazy research efforts or moving into orbit or whatever—think of John Hurt in Contact or Lionel Luthor in Smallville. Are there any examples of such figures in reality, in history? Howard Hughes types with nothing to lose? posted by cgc373 at 8:53 AM PST - 23 comments

Is there such a thing as a shoe insert for men that adds an inch or so to one's height, maybe by lifting the ball of the foot up a little bit? Or are there specially designed tennis/casual/etc shoes? [more inside]posted by hodyoaten at 8:29 AM PST - 8 comments

Anyone got experience of travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by boat? Seems like a great way to see rural Cambodia. Is it fun? Is it safe? I'd be travelling in August, so in wet season. posted by Pericles at 7:58 AM PST - 6 comments

Help, and quick! Water leaked down from a second floor bathroom into the kitchen ceiling, and it's dripping around the speaker in the ceiling. I need to remove this speaker to let the water drain before it ruins huge swaths of the ceiling. But I can't figure out how to get the speaker grille off!!!Pictures inside. [more inside]posted by luser at 6:58 AM PST - 5 comments

A local homeowners association with a lake adjoining a major state highway on one side and a public Audubon wildlife sanctuary on another has prohibited dog walkers access to trails without payment of a $50 annual fee. Previously there were no restrictions to public access to this area—going back 50 years or more. An aggressive warden in need of anger management education threatens to call police and file trespassing charges even for walking with a dog on what must be a right of way area nearest the highway. What kind of lawyer or public interest group should we try to find to help us challenge this situation.? posted by NorthCoastCafe at 6:26 AM PST - 14 comments

HELP MY EYE!!!! I hope that got your attention, because I have a long explanation about my LEFT EYE.....It has a serious problem where it is constantly closing and it is basically half the size of my right eye. I have no idea what it is and need any information that there is out there. Sorry it's so long :( [more inside]posted by eve28 at 3:45 AM PST - 17 comments

April 28

I’ve been asked to try out for a modelling agency, sounds pretty sweet, right? Unfortunately, the only person not supportive of the idea is me. How do I convince myself that this may be a good idea? [more inside]posted by liquorice at 11:20 PM PST - 51 comments

I saw this link from some blog. It's some baroque skeletal sculpture and it's amazing. The page's author doesn't seem to know much about it, but damn I would love to have a piece like this. Does anybody here know anything about this or this style?
http://self-improvement.readigg.com/description/16213.html [more inside]posted by symbioid at 10:21 PM PST - 4 comments

What is it like having other people in your head? I'm talking about the experience of hearing voices in your head when you are wide awake that seem to belong to distinct entities that are not you and not people that you know. [more inside]posted by metahawk at 9:40 PM PST - 31 comments

Fried chicken recipes for an upcoming Kentucky Derby party please. Extra points for ones that can be done on a grill. Extra extra if less likely to kill my older guests via a massive MI...thank-you. posted by docpops at 9:24 PM PST - 27 comments

In the 70's (and very early 80's), a common pop music trope was to have a chorus of female vocalists who sounded, well... monotone. Or perhaps a bit bored. Clipped, a tad nasal. The most flamboyant example of this is likely's M's Pop Muzik[youtube], but there are others. Help me find more. [more inside]posted by I EAT TAPAS at 8:58 PM PST - 17 comments

Ontario Tenants Filter: i'm in a weird situation with a rental
apartment- my landlord is trying to sell the building and is making
strange requests. i can't make sense of the ontario tenants' act.
your 2 cents would be very much appreciated. [more inside]posted by ezola at 8:45 PM PST - 12 comments

I just got a statement in the mail from my health insurance company for some lab tests that I'm *pretty* sure I didn't go in for, not having had to go to the doctor or get any tests done since I got said insurance (at least that I can recall). Now what? [more inside]posted by universal_qlc at 7:44 PM PST - 5 comments

How did the late Hy Weiss get a songwriting credit on the Velvet Underground song "Foggy Notion"? Although the song is very Lou Reed-sounding, it is the only song in the entire Velvets' catalog that doesn't credit Lou Reed as sole songwriter or co-songwriter. [more inside]posted by Doug Skullery at 7:39 PM PST - 5 comments

Started a second job today - 8 hours Sat. & Sun. Not sure if I like it or if I should even go back tomorrow. It's a sales position, I hate sales people. Help! [more inside]posted by Jaie at 5:59 PM PST - 18 comments

No matter how many times I try to download and install Flash Player on my new MacBook, it won't work and I get conflicting messages. If you have a Mac running OSX, can you please try to view this page and see if it works for you? [more inside]posted by HotPatatta at 5:47 PM PST - 18 comments

[Chicago Filter] Moving to Chicago in June. Start work 2 days later. No time to go to Chicago before the move. What's the best way to find an apt? (Everyone on CL wants to meet me first, which isn't possible.) [more inside]posted by moooshy at 5:20 PM PST - 17 comments

Dog person needs cat advice. If I adopt a kitten that has any of the physical attributes of a Siamese (blue eyes, lighter body with dark tails, etc.) or has litter mates with any of these attributes, am I condemning myself to live with a cat with a noisy needy Siamese personality? [more inside]posted by tula at 5:19 PM PST - 23 comments

I just found my first four leaf clover. I was in a special place when I happened upon it. Is there anyway to make sure I will always have it (other than laminating it)? [more inside]posted by Ugh at 5:07 PM PST - 10 comments

[BBC ad music filter] Does anyone know what the bleepy electro/ Mark Mothersbaugh-esque music playing on the BBC4 trailers for Mark Gattis' "The Worst Journey in The World" about Apsley Cherry-Garrard's epic hunt for penguin eggs? [more inside]posted by takeyourmedicine at 2:17 PM PST - 2 comments

This is a long shot, but here goes: The website of a certain company in my town features the bio of a woman who was the recipient of a "prominent young women" award from Mirabelle Magazine in the 1990's. I was curious about the award and the magazine, but when I looked it up online I couldn't find anything that made sense. [more inside]posted by frosty_hut at 1:20 PM PST - 4 comments

I want to watch the Italian TV Channels (Rai Uno, Due, Tre) etc from home in Australia but am not sure if it is possible. I have looked at some satellite options but from my very limited knowledge it appears that they are broadcast on HotBird 8 which does not reach Australia.
I already have foxtel digital and am receiving RAI international but I want more! Any ideas? posted by OzMoges at 12:46 PM PST - 3 comments

I'm building a media center PC for my living room and I'm trying to plan out the hardware/software I'll need. So I have several questions. [more inside]posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:09 PM PST - 4 comments

I'm about to restock my spice cabinet, and I'm hoping to get some advice on what herbs/spices/extracts I should invest in. What dried herbs/spices vary most in quality? [more inside]posted by roundrock at 8:34 AM PST - 24 comments

I have a short retaining wall in front of my house. It is concrete, about three feet high. On top of that is a row of bushes. The concrete is cracking and falling apart every year, and the bushes are old and scraggly. I would like to fix this, but I don't know who does this kind of work.
Should I call a landscaping place? Should I call a regular contractor? How do I fix this problem. I don't want to do it myself. posted by chocolatetiara at 6:41 AM PST - 9 comments

Help with my immature self: if someone offends me, my response is to not speak to them - and I can drag it out for ages, too. Worse still, I've found this to be quite an effective technique, so I'm consistently experiencing a degree of positive feedback. However, I do know that it's rather immature and not particularly constructive, so I'd like to know how better to deal with such a situation - what's a more mature technique/ what works for you? (I'm 35...). posted by anonymous at 5:45 AM PST - 32 comments

I know someone who has, in the last six months, lost a husband, had a house go into forclosure, mother had a stroke, and is close to the breaking point. [more inside]posted by theperfectcrime at 5:30 AM PST - 10 comments

Two people love each other very much, are currently living together and are very compatible for a successful long-term relationship (marriage, kids, the lot). However, both are also quite young, and might want/need to have some more "fun" on their own before committing to the other person for life. How to sort this out gracefully? [more inside]posted by dagny at 4:09 AM PST - 28 comments

April 27

I am trying to find a copy of a drawing/picture I saw awhile ago. It is related the the idea of "the city as an organism". I remember it as a city drawn as a kind of machine on robot legs. It is in kind of Monty Python style if that makes sense... Does anyone know who the artist is? Or if this even exists? posted by lrobertjones at 11:03 PM PST - 8 comments

Where can I have a cartoon / caricature drawn of a friend.
I saw a site ages ago where you could upload some photos, pay some money via Paypal and have a caricature drawn. I think this would make a super birthday present ... but where was that site? posted by chairish at 10:54 PM PST - 7 comments

I am a female in her 20s who would like to achieve multiple orgasms with her boyfriend. However, one orgasm makes me want to pass out. What to do? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 8:01 PM PST - 14 comments

I plan on breaking up with my girlfriend in the next few days. (We've been together for about half a year.) Help me avoid mistakes that could make The Talk worse than it has to be. (I realize that it's still going to suck even in a best-case scenario.) [more inside]posted by anonymous at 8:01 PM PST - 25 comments

My roommate and I are going insane trying to think of a sitcom (or possibly movie) we watched a few months ago where a male character gets a pierced ear, and it becomes grotesquely infected and swollen. The sitcom was likely single camera, and, if we remember correctly, fairly contemporary. It's equally likely to be British or American. Our first guess was Arrested Development, but it looks like that isn't the case. Your assistance will likely save us ours of frustration. Thanks! posted by incomple at 7:36 PM PST - 6 comments

I have written a template with a macro for Word, which I would like to share with a bunch of other people. But I don't have a digital signature and I'm wondering if there's an easy or free way to get one, or a workaround? [more inside]posted by Salmonberry at 7:15 PM PST - 3 comments

Where can I watch the Cricket World Cup Final this Saturday in Westchester? Hopefully near White Plains, because I don't want to have to go into NYC. (Failing that what are some places in the city that will be showing the game?) [more inside]posted by ruwan at 5:59 PM PST - 2 comments

How exactly does authentication work in a website like Basecamp, or more generally, a site built on Rails or LAMP. When I sign-up, I enter a username and password. I presume this is stored in a database table. But after that, how does the server know who I am during the course of my 'visits' and how does the SQL database know what I have access to ( only my projects ) and what I don't have access to ( Other peoples projects)? Where do cookies, if at all, come into play. If cookies do come into play, can they not simply be forged? I am completely clueless regarding the subtleties of authentication, user sessions, and security. Please enlighten me. posted by kaizen at 4:51 PM PST - 20 comments

RoboFilter: What can someone with a budding (but likely fleeting) interest in robotics do for a first project that combines a little building, a little programming, and hopefully only a little money? [more inside]posted by CrayDrygu at 3:08 PM PST - 9 comments

So I missed the presidential primary debate yesterday. Is it available in its entirety somewhere online?
MSNBC seems to only have clips. Audio only would be just fine. posted by thrako at 1:28 PM PST - 5 comments

I've recently become obsessed with truly mobile streaming video (a la Justin.TV), and would love some hardware and software input. For hardware, I just want a basic, small laptop. For software, I'm looking for something that does live GPS mapping on the web. [more inside]posted by pzarquon at 12:55 PM PST - 8 comments

I'm currently making recordings to a DVD and am interested in inexpensive software to edit and compress the recording with the intent to publish it to the web. An easy system to learn and that is relatively fast would be best. Thanks in advance for your suggestions...Orlin posted by orlin at 12:44 PM PST - 4 comments

I bought two student tickets to a local ballet performance via ticketmaster. I already have the tickets in hand, and they say nothing about being student tickets. Will the ticket scanner verify our student IDs upon entrance? Or do I need to buy my 29-year-old girlfriend a fake ID to see the ballet? [more inside]posted by Hankins at 11:25 AM PST - 12 comments

What would be my best source for HD content and the best PVR to capture that content? I just purchased a new HDTV. I have a Direct TV Tivo box that is only standard def. I figure as long as I have an HDTV though, I should try to get the most out of it. It seems my options are Direct TV with their HD PVR, a Direct TV HD receiver and an HD TiVo or MythTV set up, cable and one of their PVRs or cable and a Tivo or MythTV set up. [more inside]posted by willnot at 11:02 AM PST - 10 comments

What's a good dialup Internet service for Texas cities? All I need is just basic dialup Internet, as I'm visiting relatives in San Antonio who don't have WiFi or DSL. I looked at Earthlink but they rope you into a $22/mo plan after an introductory period and that sounds pretty steep. posted by rolypolyman at 10:03 AM PST - 12 comments

I need to get through a meeting where I will be attacked personally without crying. Is there anything (not therapy, not enough time) that will make it significantly harder for my eyes to produce tears that I can use? posted by JonahBlack at 9:57 AM PST - 57 comments

CSS: This should be simple, but I, the super-novice, can't find the answer. I need to figure out how to get my float:right column to sit next to my float:left column, instead of it sitting to the right, but below the left... in IE of course. [more inside]posted by Witty at 9:19 AM PST - 26 comments

Family comming to visit me in Japan. I live in Yokohama, would like to spend one or two days in Tokyo, and 5-7 days in Kyoto. I've only been down there briefly for buisness and have no contacts and no solid idea where to stay and what to see. Check to see [more inside]posted by nintendo at 8:58 AM PST - 13 comments

Where, exactly, did the rhetorical device of framing a sentence with "In which _____ does _____" come from originally? I'm pretty sure it was a famous book that I will smack myself for not remembering as soon as you tell me. Because of the simplicity of the term tracking the answer down on Google has failed, and it's been bugging me for a while now. posted by XQUZYPHYR at 8:44 AM PST - 12 comments

MS Access Question: I have two tables in a db file. One has a large list of single cell records and the other, a smaller list of records to be compared against the larger table. The issue is that I would like to use the values in the smaller table as wildcards to return like matches that are like the records in the larger table. Example follows. [more inside]posted by lampshade at 7:31 AM PST - 3 comments

Help me breathe! The older I get, the more sinus trouble I have. Almost every morning I wake up with a semi-headache because one of my nasal passages is entirely blocked. This isn't a seasonal thing, nor does it seem to be allergy-related. During the day it clears up, but at night, I must depend upon nasal spray (the kind you're not supposed to use too consistently). Should I take the plunge and go see a doctor? Or is there some miracle drug I can get over the counter? posted by jackypaper at 5:36 AM PST - 23 comments

My girlfriend was given a bottle of camelia oil for her skin from a friend of hers who lives in New York. She absolutely loves it but the bottle is really small and now she's about to run out. I'd like to get her another bottle, preferably the same brand if possible, but my Google-fu fails me and I can't find anyone who sells them. I think her friend bought it somewhere in China Town in New York but I don't know where. I'm thinking that if I could only get in touch with the shop I might be able to order a few bottles from there. Please MeFi, has anyone seen these anywhere? posted by Friday at 3:39 AM PST - 3 comments

Help identify a title of a European film about a dance hall in France before, during and past the second world war, with no dialogue. The translated title (In Eastern Europe) was "The Ball." I can't identify it on IMDB. [more inside]posted by andreinla at 12:20 AM PST - 2 comments

I'm looking for some books on European history during the 1800s. I'm specifically interested in Russia from the Decemberists to the 1917 revolution, and the French student revolution of 1848. [more inside]posted by pombe at 10:33 PM PST - 8 comments

I'm about to start a job where I will be expected to live on 5 hours (or less) sleep per night on weekdays. I'm looking for tips on staying alive physically. Types of food, drinks, shakes, vitamins, exercise tips, sleep hacks, etc. -- anything that will aid my body physically during this period of my life. [more inside]posted by JPowers at 9:50 PM PST - 29 comments

I need to purchase a heavy duty gasoline brushcutter: I have to clear small trees, multifloral rose bushes, and lots of vines over 25+ acres. I need a 35 to 55 cc engine as some of these vines are 5+ inches wide. Have you used one, and do you have any suggestions as to make and model? I am not looking for a chainsaw. posted by Runcible Spoon at 8:37 PM PST - 12 comments

I'm looking for a cheap device to import VHS video onto my MacBook. I've looked at the Canopus ADVC55 but it seems like overkill for what I need - I just want to turn my old home movies into DVDs. posted by Dag Maggot at 7:57 PM PST - 3 comments

My wife is going on a cruise this weekend. Her birth certificate and passport are missing. Leaving from California, I'm in Virginia. The ship is stopping in Mexico for fuel. Options? [more inside]posted by bh at 5:59 PM PST - 15 comments

Do you know of any films where the protagonist is not only unsympathetic, repressed, emotionally closed-off, etc, but does not change his personality throughout the course of the film? Bonus points for films based on a real person/story. [more inside]posted by np312 at 3:50 PM PST - 85 comments

My roomate and I are driving from California to New Jersey in his car... do I need to get some sort of temporary car insurance to drive his car? [more inside]posted by matimer at 2:38 PM PST - 12 comments

I accidentally formatted my NTFS drive with HFS and wrote some data on it. Now how do I recover whatever is left?
>>>Any filesystem experts around here? [more inside]posted by oneous at 2:00 PM PST - 6 comments

When I print a page in IE, the ends of the lines are often cut off at the right. I've set the left page margin as narrow as possible, but it still happens. [more inside]posted by KRS at 1:59 PM PST - 7 comments

Numb foot. I'm going to see the doctor about this next week, but wanted to get an idea of what people think this might be, and Google hasn't been so terribly helpful: I've been going all-but-completely numb in my left foot during the course of my four-to-six mile runs. It wears off when I get home, but sloooowwwwwly, and it's freaking me the fuck out. What's up? [more inside]posted by adamgreenfield at 1:50 PM PST - 15 comments

Need suggestion on how to cover my upperarm. I am a female and i got something similar to a burn mark in my upper arm. So i always wear full sleeve shirts, so that it is not visible to others... [more inside]posted by tom123 at 12:31 PM PST - 14 comments

Looking for a new fax server. My company has a linux based fax server (Hilafax) that receives commands via php from our CRM that programs a URL into a standard web browser on our client machines containing the location of the document to fax and the fax number. We have over 100 stations and do a large amount of faxing. The Linux fax program is very unreliable. [more inside]posted by PreteFunkEra at 10:34 AM PST - 3 comments

I bought a car GPS unit a couple of months ago and it came with a windshield mount that uses a suction cup. I have had a helluva time getting the suction cup to stay on the windshield. I've tried the trick I learned playing with rubber dart guns as a kid -- basically licking the cup so that the saliva helps hold the seal -- but even that doesn't keep the thing stuck on for long. Any ideas? posted by briank at 10:15 AM PST - 24 comments

I’m training for a marathon and I’m looking for a training tool to keep track of my progress and to keep me motivated. Should I go with GPS, accelerometer pods or something else? [more inside]posted by racingjs at 10:00 AM PST - 14 comments

In the BBC show Hustle, series 2, the gang stays at a hotel in London decorated with huge dog portraits. They're straight on, un-ironic portraits of dog faces. They're fabulous. Does anyone know who painted them? posted by OmieWise at 9:53 AM PST - 10 comments

I want to listen to my custom news/etc. in the morning. Who has a way of turning their RSS text feeds into mp3s? Feeds->RSS Text->Spoken Mp3->PDA/phone/iTunes, as automated as possible? [more inside]posted by penciltopper at 9:48 AM PST - 5 comments

Are there travel websites that include all airlines, including discount ones like Southwest? Or, do all these websites exclude the same discount carriers, and which carriers are excluded? [more inside]posted by mdion at 8:27 AM PST - 11 comments

Three of us (sister & sister with husband) are going to Ireland in mid September for 10 days. Would be most appreciative of any advice for 3 Americans who’ve never set foot in Ireland before and want to avoid the usual tourist traps and tourists. [more inside]posted by jabo at 7:42 AM PST - 26 comments

I keep up with alot of rss feeds. I read them at work on my breaks, and then at home before bed and in the morning before work. I would like a reader that will synchronize between the two locations so that I know where I left off at work, or at home. I allways forget my USB memory stick, so having a portable app doesn't work well for me. I haven't found a web based RSS reader that was fast enough, and designed the way I like it, I like to have my feeds grouped into folders, and read them one at a time by clicking on the item and reading the article. [more inside]posted by JonnyRotten at 7:09 AM PST - 32 comments

Celine Dion and Elvis - the duet - on last night's "Idol Gives Back". Oh pity please, how was it done? I've tried every combination I can on google/technorati. posted by Jody Tresidder at 6:53 AM PST - 7 comments

PC performance issues. 1) Is it a good idea to fill up all 3 of my DIMM slots, when my motherboard manual says that the max speed will be DDR 200 instead of DDR 400? The motherboard is an ASUS K8V SE Deluxe. 2) How do I best identify the bottlenecked hardware component that's causing framerate jerkiness e.g. when playing Oblivion (e.g. RAM, processor, AGP card)? posted by thirteenkiller at 6:34 AM PST - 15 comments

Looking for a way to get my 60 year old mother into the mp3 generation. My mother is 62 once a hippy now a conservite. Her viewing pleasure on tv include CNN, Greys atonomy, Heroes, and Lost to name a few other things. She is addicted to audio book cassettes (alot of mystery stuff growing up she like murder she wrote but the climate of tv has changed and so has her taste) and i am trying to find her some podcast that might be up her alley (she likes to garden, cook, drink and is a dog and cat lover ) since i am not a 62 year old woman and have no idea what podcast most would find interesting i have decide to consult the hive mind for answers. I am doing this in hopes to get her to abandon the tape format of audio books and move into the digital information age of podcasting i think she might enjoy it more since she typical spends large amounts of time traveling for her job. I think it will be easier and more beneficial in the long run to get her moving on this technology while she is flexible enough to adapt to it. posted by Rolandkorn at 6:08 AM PST - 9 comments

A follow-up to this question: I need to get uncompressed digital video recorded to a hard drive for the purpose of developing compression algorithms. I need a portable solution. High-def is not required. [more inside]posted by donpardo at 5:03 AM PST - 19 comments

I'm wondering about the business end of short films. How do they make money? A no-budget, 5-minute short is one thing, but many shorts have high production values, location shoots, CGI, etc., which can come to a substantial amount. For example the Academy Awards for Best Short nominees all seem to be (I didn't see em) at least (stab in the dark here) $10,000 and way up.
Unlike features (even really crappy ones), shorts aren't shown in theaters or on video and I've never really seen them outside a shorts festival. Are the producers of these taking a loss? Is it merely a kind of marketing for a director/production company and a loss is the norm? posted by zardoz at 2:45 AM PST - 9 comments

I'm spending the weekend in Vienna, running the marathon on Sunday. I've Monday free to look around the city - what would you recommend as a 'must see' for a weary, footsore sighteer? posted by poissonrouge at 1:34 AM PST - 6 comments

What do I call this drink? I'm a pretty regular scotch and soda drinker, but was recently introduced to a new libation. My buddy ordered a scotch, ginger ale and bitters. It's good, but what is it called? [more inside]posted by Telf at 12:27 AM PST - 23 comments

April 25

I'm a 40 year old male and a music nut, but only classic rock and only musicians with ultimate talent. My favorites include The Who, Rush, Kinks, Moody Blues, Peter Gabriel's Genesis, pre-Born In the USA Bruce, Ozzy, Maiden, Sabbath, etc. I haven't found a good band in the 90's and 00's until I found Wolfmother. Are there any others out there worth listening to? posted by whobynumbers at 11:53 PM PST - 53 comments

I'm in search of a hypoallergenic soap that's safe for use around the uh, girly parts. Caveat: It needs to be in liquid in-a-bottle/tube form. I'd like to be able to buy it in local stores, too. [more inside, with girly parts talk] [more inside]posted by Verdandi at 9:47 PM PST - 40 comments

Name the scary movie I can't remember. In one scene tarantulas crawl all over a bed and floor of a bedroom (I think it was a child's). I want to say that the plot may have involved a man who could bring about people's worst fears, but he may have been the devil. [more inside]posted by banished at 9:30 PM PST - 7 comments

Seriously, is it possible, without picking up a phone, to find out what the expiration date is for your Verizon Wireless account? I have my mobile with them [more inside]posted by zephyrbill at 6:48 PM PST - 2 comments

Can anyone recommend some good research/study/outlining software that assists your writing? Either freeware or paid. Basically I mean software that alows you to collate ideas and notes as you read, as well as lets you do outlining - all this in preparation for writing a report or paper or essay. [more inside]posted by vizsla at 6:04 PM PST - 11 comments

I went through a rental agency for an apartment last fall. I found one but it had some flaws (dirty, needed painting and some repairs) and the rental agent assured me that the owner was aware of the problems and would "definitely" have the needed work done PRIOR to my moving in. On the basis of that promise I plunked down $2000.00 for the first month's rent and signed the agreement. A few days later the landlord called me and said the work would not be done before I moved in but "sometime" afterwards.
I smelled a rat and went back to the agent and asked for my money back. The agency wouldn't give it back as they said it was non-refundable. Do I have anything to go on to pursue this? Thanks. posted by Tullyogallaghan at 5:16 PM PST - 11 comments

I'm a bright, creative, productive computer programmer close to the beginning of my career. I'm currently employed at a startup I really like, with relatively interesting work, and generally feel positive (or neutral) about going and spending time at the office each day. But, for a myriad of reasons, I despise having a job. I absolutely cannot imagine doing this for the rest of my life. Other than turning to a life of crime, in what ways might I support myself without having a traditional job? [more inside]posted by Netzapper at 4:53 PM PST - 40 comments

My wisdom teeth need to come out and my dentist referred me to an oral surgeon that only uses local anesthetic--no gas. Should I ask for another surgeon? [more inside]posted by awesomedude at 3:56 PM PST - 59 comments

In late May, I'll be driving with a bunch of friends in an RV from Sacramento CA to George WA and back for the Sasquatch Music Festival. I've only driven as far north as the Oregon border before, so I'm looking for recommendations of interesting places to stop - your favorite diners, pie shops, waterfalls, hot springs (improved or not) and other oddities of northwest highway culture. I'm familar with many Northern California hot springs (I really like the one in Sierraville), and would love to find other very inexpensive and informal places like that. posted by luriete at 2:57 PM PST - 14 comments

Thinking of getting an Apple wireless keyboard (Bluetooth thingy) for use with a MacBook. My overriding concern: Is there an obvious delay between pressing a key and it registering? Thanks! posted by docgonzo at 2:42 PM PST - 20 comments

I'm looking for recommendations on budgeting software that is international-friendly (multiple currency support, ease of entry and import of data). Any experiences from other international users? [more inside]posted by irian at 2:34 PM PST - 4 comments

My girlfriend and I want to escape Chicago for a weekend sometime soon. The caveats: we're in college and on a tight budget, and we don't want to drive more than 2-3 hours. Help us find the perfect weekend getaway! [more inside]posted by notswedish at 2:10 PM PST - 14 comments

When I look at an image (on my LCD computer screen) that is composed of a combination of solid colors separated by black borders, I perceive the colors as appearing on different planes of depth, as if the image were three-dimensional. If I close either eye, the illusion collapses. Am I the only one affected by this, or is it a consequence of the way LCDs display color? [more inside]posted by pmbuko at 1:08 PM PST - 15 comments

I was thinking of hiking in New England for three weeks this May. Was that is, until everyone started pitching in with scare stories of blackflies and other insects. Am I going to die? [more inside]posted by godawful at 1:06 PM PST - 17 comments

Would something like Blu Blocker sunglasses help me see my laptop screen better outside and cut down the glare from the aluminum case at the same time? [more inside]posted by dino terror at 12:39 PM PST - 6 comments

I'm looking for titles of any movies [besides Alien] that feature parasites attacking pets, humans or other animals. I can't recall any names but I definitely recall seeing hilarious ones from the 50's as a kid. Bonus for ones that are old [but still rentable from Netflix], cheesy and gross [in a somewhat humorous way] posted by special-k at 12:16 PM PST - 47 comments

My company (75 people) orders lunch from the same place every day. The receptionist sends out an email to everyone in the morning, and people respond with what they want for lunch. She then takes all of these food requests and calls them in to the sandwich shop. At the end of the day, she then has to tally up how much everyone spent. It then comes off of your paycheck.
How can we make this easier? It takes a considerable amount of the receptionists time! [more inside]posted by gregvr at 11:55 AM PST - 16 comments

Where can I find a score or a recording of Handel's Water Music Suite - except, the arrangement by Hamilton Hardy? I need to analyze a performance that I've already seen and need to refresh my memory, but all I can find is of other arrangements. I'm willing to pay a bit if it's only on an MP3 / other site - and just an outline of the structure of that arrangement or information about it would be great too! posted by tmcw at 11:10 AM PST - 1 comment

I'm running Vista on a Toshiba Satellite A105-S361 and the icon I've highlighted at this link keeps showing up in my system tray. Setting to "Hide" gets rid of it for the current session, but upon re-starting Vista, it shows up again. Does anyone know how to get rid of this and/or what it is? posted by chaosscontrol at 10:24 AM PST - 6 comments

MS Excel: I need to place quotation marks around the numbers in a column. Is there a better way to do this than I am currently trying or is there a plaintext spreadsheet editor that would be a better solution? [more inside]posted by imposster at 10:23 AM PST - 10 comments

On behalf of my girlfriend, who wanted the soup from my Chinese delivery lunch special but now is too full to eat it: Can you reheat egg drop soup? [more inside]posted by CRM114 at 10:16 AM PST - 14 comments

I want to describe something and I can't think of a good term for it. What should I call rights that "really" belong to one person or other entity, but which are expressed in relation to another person or entity? E.g., someone might not want to say that animals have a right to freedom, so he says that freeing animals protects the right of humans to avoid psychological distress. Rather than say that illegal immigrants have a right to free immunizations, he might say that the immunizations protect the rights of citizens to avoid epidemics.
Is there a word for this? posted by Joe in Australia at 10:09 AM PST - 14 comments

Bees Behaving Strangely - Last weekend saw hundreds of bees hovering over anthill-like holes on the sunny side of a small hill. On occasion the bees would go into the holes, but with much hesitation... Can bees live under ground (this was in CT) or do they fight with ants? [more inside]posted by andrewyakovlev at 9:52 AM PST - 9 comments

How do you choose between two people who are both indidually wonderful? How do you turn one down when neither of them deserve it? I'm in the best dilemma in the world and can't figure it out. [more inside]posted by twirlypen at 8:40 AM PST - 47 comments

PhillyFilter: Moving to a new apartment in a slightly questionable neighborhood. What do I need to know about, and how much would I expect to pay for renter's insurance? [more inside]posted by SansPoint at 8:20 AM PST - 16 comments

Im wondering if there are any sites or books for kids to help prepare them for a move overseas. I've got two sons, a 9 year old and a 6 year old. The 9 yr. old is angry about our upcoming (in about a month) move to Sydney, Australia. Any ideas you have would be helpful. We live in the South (USA) now. Thanks for all the helpful responses to my earlier question. posted by BaugusC at 8:03 AM PST - 13 comments

I have two children. One is a male teenager [17], and the other is an infant girl. Soon after my daughter was born I discovered that my son had been looking up porn fiction on the net. I was disturbed by the content. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 7:59 AM PST - 29 comments

23 years ago, my sister gave her newborn baby girl up for adoption. Since then, my sister made herself as "available" as possible in the hope that one day her daughter might one day reach out to find her. Last week, in the wake of the VT shooting, she did. The family is overjoyed - and dumbstruck. Any experience how we (parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.) should handle all of this? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 7:59 AM PST - 10 comments

I've recieved offers from The University of Plymouth, Winchester School of Art and Bath Spa University. At the moment I'm torn between Plymouth and Bath. Bath has a good reputation for art and design subjects (I'm studying graphics) and its a really beautiful city (this is the halls of residence) but its an expensive place to live and there's no internet access in the halls of residence which is a big drawback for me. Plymouth is a nice enough place but compared with Bath it's a complete dive and I don't think it has as good a reputation as Bath. It does have free broadband in the halls of residence though, and they've just built a brand new art and design campus with state of the art facilities. Also, in Bath I'd be living exclusively with art and design students whereas in Plymouth I'd be living with people studying different subjects which I find more appealing.
Any thoughts on which is the better option? Solutions to the internet problem would also be welcome. posted by Andy Harwood at 7:43 AM PST - 11 comments

So while belly up to the bar recently, some friends and I began talking about group activities for the summer. The idea of a “Boston Beerlympcs” came up. The idea is that we’d form a few “nations” or teams that would compete against each other in weekly and biweekly events over the summer. However, like many ideas thought up over a few pints, the execution and logistics eludes us. [more inside]posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:57 AM PST - 10 comments

Movie posters normally carry images that look hand-drawn. Even 'real' landscapes, or people, are frequently represented in this style. Why do studios do this? And are these images really drawn by hand, or are they just photoshopped photos? [more inside]posted by scrm at 6:07 AM PST - 9 comments

I have a couple of intricately beaded African ceremonial sashes, ca. 1960, that need cleaning (desperately! profoundly!), but I can't afford professional art restoration at this time, and don't trust non-specialists to clean them. Can I (should I?) try to do something (anything?) on my own? [more inside]posted by taz at 5:35 AM PST - 8 comments

audiofilter: How do you get one sound sample (http://www.sendspace.com/file/x8yljn) to sound like another (http://www.sendspace.com/file/fh6v9l) without rerecording? [more inside]posted by defmute at 12:28 AM PST - 6 comments

I'm unhappy with my job, it's affect on my life, and where it's taking me. How do I find out what it is I really want in life and start doing it? [more inside]posted by Waffle_King at 10:59 PM PST - 22 comments

I'm looking for an article I read online a few years ago. It mentioned how many emails, instant messages and phone calls it takes to equal one in-the-flesh date, such as "it takes one email conversation or 1 hour of instant messaging to equal one date". Help me find it!!! posted by damnjezebel at 9:55 PM PST - 5 comments

I want to live overseas for the summer, with an eye to emigrating, potentially. I am thinking of Ireland or maybe the UK. Please help by telling me about your experience if you were thinking about or did the same thing. [more inside]posted by cotterpin at 8:34 PM PST - 16 comments

[Word Filter] I have a Word document consisting of a giant table with columns such as last name, first name, address, etc. Is there a way to extract the table data to another document in such a way that I preserve the order of the information, but lose the cells, rows and columns? Whenever I try to cut and paste, I end up just taking the table with me - exactly what I DON'T want to do... posted by delosic at 8:21 PM PST - 10 comments

So for some unknown reason (probably I hit enter when I wasn't looking), Windows has decided to plunk down a 'Windows Service Pack Setup' file, update.exe on my external, USB, media HDD. I don't want it there. If it were as simple as right click-delete i wouldn't be here, and neither would the file. [more inside]posted by baserunner73 at 8:00 PM PST - 13 comments

I'm holding a event in the Seattle area recognizing author Kurt Vonnegut, who recently passed away. A number of people from the local literary, artistic, and library communities will be reading passages of his writing and speaking. I'm looking for a good title for the event; I think "So It Goes" has been overused. Any ideas? posted by bokinney at 7:50 PM PST - 30 comments

I have a Windows-formatted ipod that I run a mac. I am having trouble manually adding artwork to my ipod. I am unable to add the artwork in itunes and then view it on my ipod. The artwork will show up in itunes, but not on the ipod. Any suggestions? Thanks for any help! posted by slhpatterson at 6:47 PM PST - 6 comments

Imagine a cube-shaped building, with ten cube-shaped rooms along each side (10 rooms long, 10 high & 10 deep). Each cubular room has 4 walls, 1 ceiling and 1 floor. Each of the 6 interior surfaces in all 1000 cubular rooms is decorated with a different piece of art.
The rooms can be moved around the building, as if it were an enormous Rubik's cube, but they can also be spun on their axes, so all 6 walls of all 1000 cubes is capable of touching all the others (if the cube is so arranged).
How many combinations of art within the 'Cube Gallery' are possible? If you can run me through the workings of the maths I would be extra grateful. Also, what technical words/phrases/language are useful/interesting in expressing this concept? [more inside]posted by 0bvious at 6:14 PM PST - 26 comments

I found a piece of paper in my 12 year old son's knapsack today, covered with drawings of swastika's, "KKK", and one word, "Osama"; and yes, he admitted to doing it. [more inside]posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 5:29 PM PST - 62 comments

I just upgraded from a Thinkpad X22 w/ PCMCIA wireless card to an X31 with built in wireless, and the X31 is dropping the wireless connection on a regular basis, despite there being a reasonable signal. Aside from the wireless being built in, the other difference is that the X31 also has the ThinkVantage Access software installed - is it possible that there's a conflict with XP and this software?(XP is set as the default choice). [more inside]posted by russmail at 4:54 PM PST - 6 comments

Hi there collective mind, I need help for a project finding a script (preferably php) to generate personalised imitation news stories. Something like this or this. Anything which superimposes letters onto a nice background would be great. Failing that anything that will change certain parts of an article into names/user entered text would be fantastic. Electronic-free-beers on me to anyone that helps. Sorry for being such a programming-cretin. posted by nickehsmith at 4:29 PM PST - 3 comments

I have access to a library of assets (ie, Movies) that I want to sell online. This is a commercial venture and I am looking for a good way to do this. [more inside]posted by Panther at 3:58 PM PST - 3 comments

Does Hydrofloss work? http://www.hydrofloss.com/
I had a Braun Oxyjet irrigator which I loved. it died and they don't sell them anymore except as part of a whole Braun system. I have a Sonic Care and am happy with that.
I guess I am hesitant to spend $70-90 on something that says magnet change the polarity of the water. 45% more plaque reduction than Waterpik. Anybody know anything about these? [more inside]posted by thinktwice at 3:54 PM PST - 11 comments

Some time back, I read a brief article about Ted Nugent buying a new logo, either for an album or a tour. The logo was a skull and crossbones, but the bones were guitar necks, and when the logo was unveiled to Mr. Nugent for the first time, he said, "This is a motherfucker".
I can't find it on any of his albums. Anyone know where I can find the logo? posted by fandango_matt at 12:59 PM PST - 2 comments

At the bottom of this list of available emblems of belief for veteran's headstones two symbols, the christian scientist cross and crown and the muslim five pointed star, are said to be not shown due to copyright. What's up with that? [more inside]posted by thecjm at 11:59 AM PST - 7 comments

The tip (inside stem) of my power adapter broke off in my wife's computer (White iBook G4). Thus, its unable to recharge. How do I get it out? What are these parts called so I can look it up at an appropriate place? [more inside]posted by GPF at 11:53 AM PST - 16 comments

Jobfilter: Im currently a network admin at my company. I have been with them a little over 1 1/2 years. Heres my dilema. I love the company i work for, they treat everyone great, there relatively small and everyone is sorta treated like family but the problem is i am completely burnt out at my position. I have been in the IT World for a little over 8 years and im soo sick of it and want to desperatley change careers but stay with the company. What is the best way to go about telling my boss this? I want him to know im not looking for another job or quitting but just want to change to a diffrent career/position within the company. posted by flipmiester99 at 11:33 AM PST - 10 comments

I've been reading Michael Chrichton's Travels, and really enjoying his scientific prospective on the metaphysics, mysticism, energy, "New Age" spiritualism, and whatnot -- particularly in stories like "Cactus Teachings." What are some other books/authors you can recommend that approach these topics in Chrichton's skeptical-but-still-interested way? [more inside]posted by nitsuj at 11:22 AM PST - 8 comments

Calgaryfilter: We're going up for a wedding in a couple of weeks, and would like to get a little flavor of the city in the 2.5 days of free time that we will have. [more inside]posted by vignettist at 9:45 AM PST - 12 comments

When Jack Bauer unholsters his sidearm, he invariably cups his left hand and uses it to support the right. Have movie heroes from Gary Cooper through Dirty Harry been fooling us all along? [more inside]posted by Gordion Knott at 3:02 AM PST - 20 comments

Is there a decent bar on the Santa Monica Airport area, say on Ocean Park or Pico, that a 45-50 year old straight white male might want to start hanging out at with thoughts of becoming a regular? [more inside]posted by Carsey at 10:40 PM PST - 2 comments

And I will hug him and squeeze him and call him George!
Somewhere I read that there was a specific word in some language to describe the feeling of restraining overwhelming affection because the urge to hug and squeeze with all one's might could actually harm the subject, e.g. puppies, infants, petite girlfriends. I've searched all over with no luck. Ring any bells? posted by Tubes at 10:36 PM PST - 27 comments

Traveling health filter: I'm asking this for a friend who is working way...way...wayyyyyy out in the mountain regions of Pakistan with no access to proper health care at the moment. Definitely not for the squeamish... [more inside]posted by lil' ears at 10:15 PM PST - 6 comments

Photography/video filter: On the American Choppers show, I saw "Mikey" shoot his camera, "what looked like a cannon rebel xti" at like something like 20 frames per second and with some tech help turned it into a short movie. [more inside]posted by snsranch at 9:16 PM PST - 7 comments

In need of a mayonnaise-free pimento cheese recipe. Bizarre requirements follow and a knowledge of the spread and its incarnations requested. [more inside]posted by sara is disenchanted at 8:11 PM PST - 12 comments

My friend and I were having a discussion over acceptable marginal tax rates. I'm wondering where I would look to quickly find out how much of my income I would have to pay in state and federal taxes at different income levels. Is there a quick (online) way to figure this out? Exclude complications like stocks, marriage, other tax breaks, etc. If you want a specific salary, how much would I have to pay in taxes on a $100,000 salary? Thanks! posted by JamesJD at 8:04 PM PST - 6 comments

In 1987 I visited a friend in Sweden and we went to the amusement island Gröna Lund.
As he shopped at a kiosk, I leaned in to hear the pitch, and began suffering an odd symptom. [more inside]posted by thebrokedown at 7:53 PM PST - 10 comments

I have a slow leak in a brand new Diadora soccer ball purchased online. Every week or so it becomes too soft to kick and must be pumped up again. Is there a way to home-remedy this, or should I ask for my money back? posted by deern the headlice at 7:43 PM PST - 8 comments

What does the bumper sticker depicting something akin to a deer-crossing sign mean? The sticker looks like a deer-crossing sign except that instead of a deer, some other deer-like animal is depicted (springbox? ibex? impala?). I have seen the sticker with regularity on cars in eastern states. posted by kellygreen at 7:19 PM PST - 11 comments

Bodybuilding and Weight-losing filter: I’m planning to lose some weight around the hips, and at the same time work on my upperbody. The only catch is that I can’t afford to go to the gym right now, and was wondering if there are any exercises that I can do at home. [more inside]posted by hadjiboy at 6:40 PM PST - 19 comments

What does this Chinese/Japanese (?) sign mean? It's in big print on a good looking second hand t-shirt I just bought. I hope that after you all-knowing people have translated it for me, I'll feel more comfortable wearing it. posted by pica at 3:00 PM PST - 19 comments

Looking for name of (and hopefully high res scan) of a Japanese woodcut print I saw recently at Monet's house in Giverny. It was a vertically tall picture with what looked like some sort of bird of prey (hawk or falcon) at the top swooping in at the top of the frame. The image was also sold as a print at the gift shop. [more inside]posted by bitdamaged at 2:51 PM PST - 3 comments

I'd like to use my computer (an 867MHz G4 Mac) to record European soccer (to me, football) matches from digital cable when they are shown live on US cable channels like Fox Soccer Network and ESPN. [more inside]posted by galaksit at 2:32 PM PST - 6 comments

Where should we host a bridal shower in Seattle? We're looking for a cool private room in a restaurant, or a neat suite in a hotel, or a cool patio - it's the weekend of August 4th so all of the boats are booked for SeaFair. [more inside]posted by barnone at 2:23 PM PST - 6 comments

Michigan Scanner Law: Item originally sells for 29.99, but was stickered as 1.99. I think I deserve to be able to buy it for that price, but they say since it is due to human error, it doesn't qualify under the law. Who's right? They still charged me more than the sticker said, regardless of whether or not it was supposed to be that price. [more inside]posted by gilsonal at 2:09 PM PST - 50 comments

Within the last few weeks I came across a website that listed something like 20 steps for getting Web 2.0 savvy, except that the name was most likely nothing like that and now I can't seem to find it anywhere. I recall that one step was supposed to be completed each week, and it involved things like creating a blog and getting a flickr account, etc. It may have been put together for some type of university course. My google-fu is failing me! posted by platinum at 2:08 PM PST - 4 comments

Are Harley-Davidsons for poseurs and mid-life crisis yuppies only, or can low key folks like me ride on without fear of getting that stigma assigned to them too? [more inside]posted by Tommy Gnosis at 1:38 PM PST - 36 comments

I am the newest member of the eyeglass-wearing community (or I will be when they get here in 5-7 days) and I have a question about my prescription. [more inside]posted by IndigoRain at 12:13 PM PST - 5 comments

(Yet another) iTunes question: Is there a way to list different Album Artists for a given album and still have iTunes display it as a single album? [more inside]posted by Bromius at 11:41 AM PST - 9 comments

Is there data about moderate weight loss for the relatively thin? For example, we all know that yo-yo dieting is bad, etc., etc. But is there any data about whether it's bad for a not-overweight person to gain five pounds every winter and then lose it every spring? It seems like all the healthy eating and weight loss stuff I read is based on studies of fat people. posted by croutonsupafreak at 11:16 AM PST - 7 comments

I am looking for a Dilbert cartoon dealing with a chronically expanding project scope, which threatens to crush a hapless engineer under its bloated mass. posted by doctorcurly at 10:44 AM PST - 2 comments

I'm moving to Windsor, ON from the US, this fall, for grad school. I'm presently roped into a three+ year wireless contract with Cingular, here in the States. Given the proximity of Windsor to Detroit (I will be able to see Detroit from campus), is it at all possible that I'll be able to continue using my Cingular plan without paying $0.79/minute international roaming fees or acquiring a new plan? [more inside]posted by wreckingball at 10:35 AM PST - 19 comments

Touchscreen windows laptop: what software would you recommend that could take advantage of a touchscreen? Here's the kicker: the PC is only running XP Pro (not XP tablet edition). [more inside]posted by Mave_80 at 10:24 AM PST - 7 comments

We are temporarily moving 50 miles from our permanent home. We would like to keep our landline phone number active. VOIP seems like the obvious answer, but I'm a complete internet telephony newbie. [more inside]posted by ambrosia at 9:43 AM PST - 10 comments

Shade-tolerant plants! I have a small raised bed outside my door which is in deep shade, under a large white pine tree. I'm in coastal New Hampshire, Zone 5, somewhat moderated by the ocean effect. The soil is on the acidic side but is easily augmented. It's quite moist. I don't need veggies because I grow them in a community garden, but herbs would be nice, or just ornamental things. Any ideas as to what might grow? posted by Miko at 6:35 AM PST - 23 comments

Polyglotfilter: Okay, so I am trying to learn Arabic. Sometimes I hit big, ginormous walls with it, but I'm determined to not give up. Just the lack of a good dictionary is frustrating. So... any helpful tips? [more inside]posted by miss lynnster at 12:29 AM PST - 16 comments

April 22

So I enjoy sharing my screenshots using AllYouCanUpload. Basically I save a screenshot to my desktop using apple+shift+3, browse to AllYouCanUpload, upload the image, paste its URL into my chat dialog, and finally delete the source file. I was wondering, is there anyway I could automate this process in OSX? [more inside]posted by Aanidaani at 11:06 PM PST - 5 comments

I just bought a big grill for my new backyard but I'm feeling bad that my wife does all the grilling (she's an amazing cook). I'd like to help out more but I don't know where to start. Are there any really basic books on how to get started cooking on a gas grill? Everything I find online is a cesspool of ads or nonsense, so I'm asking here. [more inside]posted by mathowie at 10:47 PM PST - 36 comments

In making a gallery page for a website, what is the easiest way to have a scrolling area for clickable thumbnails that bring up a larger image, as well as some information about the image, in a table cell above? Specifics, examples, many self links, and my (mangled) code so far available inside. [more inside]posted by ztdavis at 9:29 PM PST - 5 comments

A friend is in the US on a tourist visa (from a non-visa waiver country). He just got ticketed for driving without a license, without insurance, and with highbeams on. He'll be entering a US university as an undergrad this autumn, for which he'll convert his visa to a student visa. Could these infractions result in his being deported or being denied further visas and, later on, permanent residency status? [more inside]posted by jbb7 at 9:26 PM PST - 16 comments

When using sony sound forge, is it possible to get the actual data from the spectrum analysis graph (amplitude vs frequency in tabular form).
And part 2 to my question is, when using sound forge spectrum analysis, if i take a particular frequency and amplitude, how do i calculate relative dBA levels from the chart data. [more inside]posted by edtut at 9:24 PM PST - 8 comments

An unlucky series of partition moves, copies and resizes has led to GPartEd saying my NTFS partition is one size, but windows thinking it's another. What the Christ? Seemingly impossible screenshots and [more inside]posted by datacenter refugee at 9:18 PM PST - 9 comments

I'm looking for quality information about medicine, life in Third World countries, Doctors Without Borders and similar organizations, travel, expat experiences, etc. [more inside]posted by snoogles at 7:48 PM PST - 8 comments

The Joan Crawford post below reminded me: I'm looking for a specific image of Judy Garland that I saw in a documentary a while back (I think on Bravo)... it's her silhouetted profile in the lower right of the frame, and she's blowing smoke which takes up more space in the photo than her actual face. It's gorgeous and evocative and I can't find it anywhere. A site that sells the pic or a book containing it would be particularly appreciated. posted by Help, I can't stop talking! at 7:20 PM PST - 5 comments

What type of all-in-one bag would you use to fly (economy across the country) with Nikon D-80 + MacBook Pro 15" (or equivalent equipment) that is comfortable, easy to store for flight, and functional? [more inside]posted by tarthur at 6:44 PM PST - 13 comments

Any ideas for an authentic Kentucky Derby party? So the Kentucky Derby is a few weeks away, and I'm throwing a party for some friends. I'd like to make it festive with some Churchill Downs flair - women wearing hats, betting tickets, toy horses on tables, roses everywhere. I'm serving burgoo, Derby pie, and of course, mint juleps. [more inside]posted by adverb at 6:06 PM PST - 16 comments

mr. kerning accidentally dropped an aleve tablet in the floor vent of our gas furnace. he's worried that it will burn and release toxic fumes that will kill us in our sleep. is there anything to be worried about? [more inside]posted by kerning at 5:08 PM PST - 16 comments

I am looking to serve tap water only in my restaurant, as chez panisse and other san francisco bay restaurants i have. i am in nyc and am wondering if anyone else has experience or advice on this process (most notably how to do the carbonation process) posted by hardyboy at 4:23 PM PST - 6 comments

"server not found" problems in Firefox 2 and IE 7 ... I have recently developed a consistent problem with server not found errors in FF and IE, request will load on a second refresh of the request [more inside]posted by specialk420 at 3:30 PM PST - 11 comments

Job application ethics question. A job I started last month isn't working out, so I recently interviewed for a job at another firm. The prospective employer wants me to submit an application form in which I list my current employer (including my current supervisor's name and contact info). It would save me a lot of angst if I could leave my 2-month-old current job off this form entirely. Is it OK if I do that? [more inside]posted by hazelshade at 1:56 PM PST - 8 comments

Can I use a desktop blogging client to upload posts but keep them 'Unpublished' in Movable Type? What exactly happens when Movable Type publishes? [more inside]posted by reflexed at 1:36 PM PST - 5 comments

Vanityfilter: why do I sometimes have these "bad hair days", and how can I prevent them in the future? Pictures and gory details after the break. [more inside]posted by rossination at 1:07 PM PST - 13 comments

Next Day filter: Went out with a friend last night, turned into a sort of date. Do I call today, and what should I say? Of course, the situation is more complicated... [more inside]posted by papakwanz at 1:02 PM PST - 14 comments

I have a design for a couch or a bench. Where and how, preferably in or around NYC, can I go about having it manufactured in small or large quantities? posted by idledebonair at 12:43 PM PST - 4 comments

Seattle Filter: Summer is short and I need a plan. I would like to fill my calendar with outdoor activities. Lots of activities. Weekend road trips and weekday after work sports, please. [more inside]posted by |n$eCur3 at 12:35 PM PST - 6 comments

I just found out that the dystopian/futuristic movie Children of Men is based on a novel by P.D. James. It made me think of the excellent short story The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster. It made me wonder: are other examples of mainstream authors experimenting with speculative fiction? [more inside]posted by nanojath at 12:02 PM PST - 36 comments

What are possible causes for explorer.exe to blowup to 70-80+ % CPU usage??
NO I do not have an trojans or viruses, my machine doesn't have any extra crap running on it in the background.
Typical things I use are Video editing applications like Sny Vegas, Sorenson Squeeze, and Photoshop - usually after opening/running a couple things - bam - task manager shows exploere.exe hogging & bogging down.
Any ideas? Should I just wipe/reinstall windows? posted by Richiedude at 11:47 AM PST - 8 comments

I am looking for a certain image of Joan Crawford. This is pretty vague, but she is blowing smoke in the picture and it is rising up in front of her face. That is all I have to work with, and my search attempts have been fruitless thus far. Anyone have a clue? posted by davidriley at 10:45 AM PST - 6 comments

Is it possible to fake schizophrenia? I had a discussion the other days and the other person claimed that it can be done to avoid legal recourse. Never thought about it much, but it could be true. Please understand that I am sensitive to people suffering from any illness, be it mental or otherwise.
I ask this question with respect and sensitivity. posted by bright77blue at 8:23 AM PST - 35 comments

Help me discover this stuffed green chillies recipe. While in India I read about a dish of stuffed green chillies, but never, ever managed to trace it or even to find out it's name. This is what I know about this dish:
*It is Iranian, and can be bought from Iranian coffee shops in Hyderabad.
*The green chilies are cleaned of their seeds and stuffed with a paste that includes cardamom and other spices.
*The stuffed chilies are deep fried in oil.
*The result is sublime.
I would like to know the name of this dish, and if possible a recipe. Thank you chili lovers wherever you are. posted by slimeline at 5:59 AM PST - 6 comments

Looking for a style, it includes sleeveless sweater vest over a white shirt with black trousers or tight jeans and I think a studded belt. Im looking for the name if one exists or some pics that will help me find the clothes to buy. We recently had swedish exchange students here and one of them had it and I remember seeing a swedish band clothed like that too so I think its a swedish trend posted by freddymetz at 4:35 AM PST - 4 comments

My basic question is how to do the “let’s get tested for STDs” talk/request without turning off the other person. General responses are great, and if you have the patience to read about my experience inside, specific advice and suggestions would be really nice. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 4:01 AM PST - 43 comments

TechnoFilter: My friend once gave me a mix-tape made in the late 80s or early 90s that included this song. It samples Margaret Thatcher talking about "monopoly money", "modern warfare", etc. She doesn't remember who the song is by or what it's called, but was kind enough to record an MP3, which I doubt anyone will care about me posting: rusrs.com/thatcher.mp3[more inside]posted by qvtqht at 1:14 AM PST - 14 comments

When I read the biographies of artists I admire, they always seem to start with lines like "began playing the piano at 5", "got first drumkit at 7", and so forth. Every great musician I've known personally got started at a very young age, usually before age 12. Have there been any successful (defined here as having produced music enjoyed by a significant number of people) who came to music relatively late in life? Past 18? 30? 40? posted by phrontist at 1:03 AM PST - 30 comments

April 21

My PC's speakers have learned a new trick: they randomly start outputting loud, constant static for long periods of time. Why are they doing this, and more importantly, how can I stop it? [more inside]posted by phaded at 9:47 PM PST - 12 comments

I'm trying to get the best and cheapest GSM service in Toronto with the shortest contract.... Are there any GSM cell service providers here besides Rogers/Fido? Or, are there any companies that offer their own service on Rogers network the way, say, Virgin uses Bell's network? Thank you. posted by Manhasset at 8:11 PM PST - 6 comments

My wife has been going to the same hairstylist for 6 years. She loves his work and tips him well. Now, he's opened his own salon. Should she still tip? [more inside]posted by altcountryman at 7:19 PM PST - 32 comments

I would like to read a good text that helps you interpret Shakepeare's plays. Specifically, I'd like to get help tackling Hamlet. Any recommendations? [more inside]posted by skepticallypleased at 6:39 PM PST - 27 comments

WisdomOfCrowdsFilter: I read a theory smewhere that there's a peculiar thing that happens when you ask a group of people to estimate something. As I remember it, there's something about the magic number of 50%, but I'm not wholly sure how this works. The idea was basically that when at least 50% of the individuals were estimating properly in some way, the average estimate would eventually converge on the true value, but when less then 50% of the individuals estimated properly, widely divergent values would emerge. Essentially, more then 50% or _something_ produced good estimates, less then 50% produced estimates that were substantially worse than those produced by just one individual. I've spent some time with Google and Wikipedia on Estimation and Delphi methods, but to no avial. Any mifites know what I'm talking about? posted by zachlipton at 5:44 PM PST - 20 comments

Friends of mine bought a Packard Bell PC back in 2003. It's never been the real deal, the computer it should have been despite the huge amount they paid for it. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 4:42 PM PST - 8 comments

I was given a cat to sit last August and since then the cat and I have got accustomed to each other. (My last cat before this one died over a year ago.) I told the original owner awhile back that I wanted to keep the cat and I thought that was where we left it. Now, the original owner wants the cat back and I don't want to give it up. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 4:42 PM PST - 38 comments

I'm having pain in my hip joint. This isn't unusual for a pregnant woman, but it does seem unusual that it's coming so early in the pregnancy, and occuring on one side only. Could this be related to having hip dysplasia as an infant? And is there anything that I or my doctor(s) can do about it? [more inside]posted by Shoeburyness at 3:32 PM PST - 8 comments

Cheapest way to have a completely silent workstation i.e. my monitors and keyboard/mouse in one room and the computer in another when the distance between them is more than 10 meters (32 feet)? [more inside]posted by dinkyday at 2:54 PM PST - 4 comments

How does my Windows Mobile PDA communicate with our office Exchange Server successfully without using a VPN, when I have to use a VPN with Microsoft Outlook to get at it?
(And then are there any PC-based programs that can use the same technique as the PDA?) posted by blue_wardrobe at 1:52 PM PST - 13 comments

Is there a way, when opening a file from a program, to right click within the "File Name:" dialogue box and get a list of the most frequent paths to folders available to choose from? [more inside]posted by matthelm at 1:05 PM PST - 4 comments

Dinner party debate (now you obviously know what I use Ask MeFi for...):
In general, do midgets wish they were taller? Has there ever been a study about little people's attitudes towards their littleness?
Personal experience welcome, but statistics even better. posted by anonymous at 1:02 PM PST - 21 comments

These two birds insist on building a nest on my porch. Thus, my cats are freaking out. How can I get these birds to take a hike? More detail inside, this isn't as easy as it sounds! [more inside]posted by punkrockrat at 12:39 PM PST - 15 comments

Does anyone know where I can find out what David Cross has been up to and any new projects he has? I can't find any links for a website of his that's up to date. I'm more interested in his stand-up shows and/or comedy albums rather than acting roles (IMDB). posted by mgrimm at 12:29 PM PST - 5 comments

Let's say I spend long hours staring at a computer screen where some of the fonts are too small and I have no way of increasing them, which creates a diabolical eye-strain device of reasonable fonts mixed in with unreasonable system fonts. I normally have no vision problems otherwise. Is this going to damage my eyesight if I keep it up? (Medical opinions and links to medical articles welcome). And is Leopard's "resolution independence" or anything else in Leopard going to bring OSX near to where XP is in terms of being able to increase the system fonts without lowering the resolution? (I'm using a Macbook Pro). posted by baking soda at 11:15 AM PST - 6 comments

April 20

A "wide load" vehicle on the highway seems to always have a sign on the back to indicate that it's a "wide load", but the sign doesn't say "wide load". Instead, it has the letter "D" in the middle of it, and red/white vertical bars. Why a "D"? What does the "D" stand for? Why not just have the sign say "WIDE LOAD"? I'm in Canada, if this is something that'd be different in other countries. posted by gwenzel at 9:16 PM PST - 11 comments

I saw a short film about 10 years ago where some tough guys steal wine from an old man and make another guy drink it. Has anybody else seen this weird film? [more inside]posted by bugloaf at 8:49 PM PST - 1 comment

I have a touch lamp, which I'm finding incredibly useful to turn off when I'm half asleep. However, I'm also a bit of an eco-warrior. I've been looking online, and found that a small amount of energy is supplied to the lamp at all times. Surely that must be costing me something? [more inside]posted by Solomon at 5:13 PM PST - 18 comments

Househeatingfilter: Saladpants is a city boy from major east coast city, who recently moved to smaller west coast city, Portland, OR. He and Mrs. Saladpants are looking at a house which, while only 15 minutes from downtown, is essentially out in the country. This means that the house has no gas line running to it and no sewer either.
In this particular house, the Saladpantses have two potential heating options: Propane or Electric. They have no experience with either, and are uncertain as to which is better. They seek opinions, wisdom and experiences of fellow mefites. [more inside]posted by saladpants at 5:01 PM PST - 15 comments

[ObnoxiousTeenagerFilter] I know a 60ish recently widowed lady who says "neighborhood teens" are terrorizing her where she lives and I'd like to take some action...but I'm not sure what to do other than lend a sympathetic ear. [more inside]posted by ostranenie at 3:10 PM PST - 22 comments

is there a way to make adobe premiere or sony vegas open avi files encoded with xvid video and .a52 dolby digital audio, and if not what i should convert them with and what i should convert them to, assuming i have only 80 gb or so of hdd space? posted by jimmy at 2:56 PM PST - 3 comments

What are the best ways of dealing with dramatic friends, to give them the love and support that they need without rewarding their dramatic strategies? [more inside]posted by xo at 12:51 PM PST - 29 comments

Broke up with her over a year ago; we're still good friends; I never got over her; now I think she might be "the one." What the hell do I do? [more inside]posted by CommonSense at 12:32 PM PST - 34 comments

Dey bareh (sp?). My Kashmiri wife is looking for a restaurant in London that serves this dish - basically cornflour/chickpea-flour dumplings in yoghurt. Any ideas? We live in Bloomsbury, so anywhere near there would be good. posted by Mossy at 12:12 PM PST - 9 comments

A friend of mine is looking for the name of a computer game he played maybe 14 years ago. Any clue which game this is? It takes place in a museum, and at one point you have to give Napoleon a pastry. [more inside]posted by NewGear at 11:57 AM PST - 11 comments

I've been asked to take some headshots for a friend of a friend who will be using the shots for entry into a beauty contest. I don't have a studio or studio lighting. Is there a way to rig up a portrait studio on a budget? What would I need? [more inside]posted by inviolable at 11:10 AM PST - 13 comments

I saw this picture of a 'maneki neko' or lucky cat on an Ars Technica article last week, and now I really really want it. I'm posting on the off-chance that someone here has seen this thing for sale somewhere... [more inside]posted by corvine at 11:03 AM PST - 18 comments

Gmail appears to have failed me. AskMe, show me the light. I use Gmail to retrieve my email from my vanity domain via POP. All is good, except for it appears that Gmail does not actually delete emails on the POP account when you delete and trash it in Gmail. Now my vanity domain email account is maxed out with several months worth of deleted email & spam clogging it. [more inside]posted by Argyle at 9:45 AM PST - 8 comments

I have recently seen a map of Congress that listed the number of Representatives that had been indicted, seen war, had been divorced, etc. What kind of public records are available about a landmark building like the Hancock Tower in Chicago and how can I get a hold of them? [more inside]posted by krautland at 9:43 AM PST - 5 comments

I'm attending a party where the theme is "40s night."
"Come dressed as something 40s-related - dressing as the decade from *any* century, as if you are in your 40s, etc..."
This is fairly open ended, but I've had costume-block all week, and the party is tomorrow night. Science fiction themed suggestions especially welcome. The only person at the party I'm interested in impressing is a huge sci-fi nerd; if you come up with something obscure she'll probably get it (and chances are I will too). [more inside]posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 9:39 AM PST - 44 comments

I need to improve my spanish, specifically my listening comprehension. I've done all the Pimsleur and Michel Thomas courses, and I can easily read spanish with very few problems, but I want to get better at understanding native speakers. Anybody have any good resources? [more inside]posted by youthenrage at 9:30 AM PST - 11 comments

Book filter: I am looking for recommendations for recent books written about online culture for a Sociology course I am teaching this summer. The book doesn't need to be sociological. posted by Quartermass at 8:25 AM PST - 14 comments

I think the title explains it all:
I'm looking to get a list of all files in a specific directory from a web server- www.site.com/docs/. The thing is, there's an index.htm file in that directory so if I browse to it, I just get the index file. Is there any way to find out the names of all files in that directory, scripting or otherwise? [more inside]posted by newatom at 8:09 AM PST - 13 comments

I have been toying with the idea (just the idea) of possibly doing some work on Capitol Hill while I figure out graduate school. How do I do this? [more inside]posted by parmanparman at 7:43 AM PST - 9 comments

Friends and I downloaded a copy of a play script written by the Virginia Tech shooter, filmed it, and posted it on youtube. I have since taken it down. How bad an idea was this (and some more specific questions inside)? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 7:38 AM PST - 53 comments

Can someone recommend a good psychiatrist in the north suburbs of Chicago? Someone near my job in Libertyville with a good understanding of bipolar disorder would be ideal. I'm just not getting along with my current doctor. Email's in my profile if you'd rather respond privately. Thanks. posted by jammer at 7:11 AM PST - 1 comment

When did directors of plays and operas start the practice of overtly imposing their own visual interpretation of the play at the expense of the stage direction of the author? These days if you go to see a Shakespeare play, it's even odds that it's set in modern times, or the early 20th century, or what have you. Were there 19th century (or earlier!) productions of Shakespeare that set his plays in what were then "modern times"? At what point did staging old plays become just as much about the director's vision as the playwright's? posted by dfan at 6:33 AM PST - 17 comments

SpeculativeUsedLaptopFilter: If I wanted a laptop that was relatively, in order of necessity, cheap, fast, running an OS with an efficient but possibly low-tech GUI, and light, what might my optimal setup be, in both hardware and software? [more inside]posted by poweredbybeard at 2:03 AM PST - 16 comments

I’ve never fundraised for anything in my life. But as of yesterday, I’ve been moved by something I read to see if I can get some cash together to help someone. Help me work out the best way to go about it. There is some [more inside]posted by t0astie at 1:38 AM PST - 13 comments

Where's the best place in Jamaica to spend my life savings on Reggae music?
I am going to be in Jamaica for one day. My cruise lands in Ocho Rios. I have from 8:30am to 3:30 pm and I want to spend every penny I can spare on music I can't get anywhere else. Please help. Do I have time to drive/ride to Kingston? Do I need to go to Kingston? Or does Ochos have somewhere I can go? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
ps. I don't/can't do wax. I'm a child of the 80s/90s. CDs are where it's at.
pps. Any jerk places not full of tourists I should stop at along the way to my music shop? posted by gummo at 12:56 AM PST - 9 comments

Given that I'm somewhat proficient in website coding (php, CSS, xhtml and so on) how can I constructively educate myself on actual design? What resources exist that will make me a better designer? [more inside]posted by geodave at 9:58 PM PST - 17 comments

I have a legal copy of Windows XP running as my OS right now, the problem is I no longer have the original installation disks. Is there a way for me to somehow make a copy ... [more inside]posted by 517 at 9:20 PM PST - 20 comments

What's a reasonable amount of time for me to schedule for a written university assignment, including library research, online journal search, draft and actual writing, to get a better than pass mark? [more inside]posted by b33j at 9:20 PM PST - 16 comments

I'm currently living in the Mt. Pleasant area of Vancouver. I'm a 30ish male. I took a week of vacation and the highlight of today was paying off my library fines. I would like to get a bit more of a social life.... [more inside]posted by concreteforest at 8:33 PM PST - 7 comments

I need to take a flight to Canada tomorrow and have just realized that my passport is expired. I could drive, but don't have access to my birth certificate. Am I stuck? Think security will take a drivers license and an expired passport? [more inside]posted by ArcAm at 8:05 PM PST - 20 comments

If a yankee plays for the Blue Jays is he paid in Canadian money? Can he become a Canadian citizen? Is it any less difficult for him than it would be anyone else? If a Mexican citizen plays for a US team can he become a US citizen? Is it any less difficult for him than it would be anyone else? How do other teams, leagues, countries traditionally accommodate transnational players? posted by airguitar at 6:29 PM PST - 13 comments

livetrace / illustrator cs2: how would I go about tracing only the outline of a complex image (in this case, a cutout of a building) so as to create cut lines for a printer? [more inside]posted by pinto at 5:10 PM PST - 8 comments

Dyeing or sewing? What's the most practical way to change the color of 100% wool fabric from red to black, when the fabric is upholstery on the seat & back cushions of a large office chair? [more inside]posted by allterrainbrain at 4:45 PM PST - 11 comments

Please tell me how to create quick emailable hyperlinks to .pdf documents on a network, so that a group of users can share the documents without clogging inboxes with attachments. [more inside]posted by apocry_phil at 4:37 PM PST - 9 comments

Having just created a MySpace page, i cannot seem to display my online status.
I have already unchecked the hide online status box but to no avail, i know of at least one other new user with the same problem. Anyone know what the problem is/how to fix it? posted by Reggie Knoble at 4:33 PM PST - 4 comments

I love sitting in the backyard working on my laptop. The problem is its often not very readable. What is the best way to use a laptop outside? At the moment I am squinting a lot. I'm open to all practical suggestions including devices, positioning, shading etc. (I own a Thinkpad T42 if it's relevant) posted by zaebiz at 3:14 PM PST - 10 comments

I have some contacts on AIM, others on Google Talk, others on MSN messenger. Ideally I'd like to set up an account on all of these, and then if someone sends me a message on one it would be forwarded to the other one I happened to be logged in on; i.e., they send me a message on Google talk and it's automagically forwarded to my MSN messenger account. C'mon MeFites, let's get the construction paper & string & build this thing! posted by mattholomew at 2:21 PM PST - 19 comments

What's the easiest (read: quickest) way to migrate CDFinder catalogs from old power pc macs running OS 9 to OS X intel minis? I have 394 of them, and they come up as gray executable files on OS X. posted by valkane at 1:45 PM PST - 6 comments

I want to take a patent bar exam review course. There are quite a few around. Can anyone help my choose? Maybe list some pros and cons of the course you took if you cannot compare courses. Saving money is not an issue - passing is!!! posted by fritzkers at 12:12 PM PST - 5 comments

Calling all Chicagoans: I will be working on Fulton Market, just west of I90/94. My roommate will be attending Loyola (Lake Shore campus). We both want easy commutes. Suggestions for fun, safe areas to live in that will be convenient for both of us? [more inside]posted by christie at 11:26 AM PST - 8 comments

Mac/DesignFilter: I once heard of a Mac program that would allow you to preview different fonts using specific text, to help ease the design of a logotype. This isn't a font manager, but more of a design tool. [more inside]posted by lunarboy at 11:24 AM PST - 8 comments

There's a glut of butt-related questions on here, but I think mine has yet to be asked. If you don't like reading about butt problems, you should stop now. [more inside]posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) at 11:10 AM PST - 13 comments

I would like to use the new release of Thunderbird (2.0) with my Yahoo account and am looking for a free SMTP service. I know Gmail lets you use its servers but apparently changes the 'From' field of the message to username@gmail.com for all messages. Is there any other service that I can use, apart from my ISP's (I shuffle between work, school and home). [more inside]posted by sk381 at 11:02 AM PST - 6 comments

My wife (a spectacular cook) is out of town, I have $5.00 for lunch, and I'm not in the mood to make something for myself. Since this will probably be my only meal of the day, what's the most filling food I can buy for ~$5.00? [more inside]posted by bjork24 at 10:58 AM PST - 35 comments

Our landlord/property manager has disappeared. The phone number and fax are disconnected. Emails are bouncing back. The website is gone. Now what do we do? [more inside]posted by BloodyWallet at 10:45 AM PST - 5 comments

I'm experiencing a bit of an existential dilemma. I'm 30, going on 31 in July, and recently ended a relationship with my fiance. Or, more accurately, he told me that he wanted to postpone our wedding, to which I responded that our relationship was therefore probably over. We talked, and mutually agreed that it was probably for the best that we end it and move on. It was for all intents and purposes an amicable split. However, I'm really struggling with the moving on part. [more inside]posted by smallstatic at 10:06 AM PST - 40 comments

How can I strengthen my integrity and virtue? As I have become older, I feel that I am not as virtuous as I would like to be. I am moving into leadership roles at work, and also into parenthood soon, and I feel it in important to exercise my moral muscles. Is my upbringing going to dictate how virtuous I am as an adult, or are there things I can do to stand more upright in character? posted by kaizen at 10:00 AM PST - 27 comments

Northern California Dreaming -- What steps should I take to explore my dream of buying land in Mendocino or Humboldt County, creating a small energy efficient home (perhaps one of the tiny, prefab ones), all while building/finding community. [more inside]posted by ClaudiaCenter at 9:34 AM PST - 12 comments

We're holding a salon tomorrow (in the artsy sense of the word), and are looking for good activities to suggest for those who might not be blatantly artistic. [more inside]posted by ikahime at 8:25 AM PST - 10 comments

ParanoiaFilter: Is there a federal database listing every prescription drug each person in the US has been prescribed or has purchased? ABC News seems to think so. [more inside]posted by Pastabagel at 7:27 AM PST - 11 comments

ATTN: Music Nerds! I'm putting together a party playlist with the theme of "Impeach the President" - any suggestions?? Help me rock the party into the streets! [more inside]posted by MeatLightning at 7:19 AM PST - 72 comments

Greetings Hive Mind. I love to ski, and I want to have a video record of said skiing. Has anyone got any recommendations for helmet cameras that I could use next time I'm in the mountains? [more inside]posted by Kreiger at 6:58 AM PST - 7 comments

I'm in an unusual situation and it's proving extremely difficult to change things. Short version: I've been out of work for five years mostly due to severe depression, anxiety, and an abusive relationship, and have been trying to establish myself since recovering with no luck. I'm a bookworm with a degree who seeks an entry-level publishing position, but will take other (hopefully related, but not an absolute requirement right now) positions in the interest of establishing a recent job history for myself. (Extra long version inside...) [more inside]posted by anonymous at 5:49 AM PST - 36 comments

What's the latest on US citizens as tourists in Cuba? I would greatly appreciate fairly recent ( within the last six to twelve months ) experiences of a US citizen visiting Cuba. I am a Canadian. I visited Cuba in 1994. I would like to return soon, but I'd like to go with US citizen, departing from Toronto.
There seems to be a lot of conflicting info out there. Any responses greatly appreciated. Thanks. posted by GoodJob! at 4:18 AM PST - 15 comments

In order to illustrate a part of a loooong blog post I'm finishing about World of Warcraft, I'm looking for a small, one panel comic that features Santa Claus raising his fist and, to his apparent disbelief, yelling "For the Horde!" to Rudolph. For the life of me I can't find it. Could any of you hope me on the matter? [more inside]posted by XiBe at 1:25 AM PST - 6 comments

I'm looking for a battle strategy game in the tradition of the Myth series (or the old-school game "Siege"). Interested in troop movement and in-battle tactics, NOT maintaining economy/resources, spawning units, buildings, etc. (Warcraft didn't interest me when I tried it many years ago). [more inside]posted by Alabaster at 10:41 PM PST - 15 comments

If all goes as planned I'll be working at a Frito Lay distribution center near my house and they recommend a good pair of durable thick soled shoes for work. Right now I've just got a standard pair of white Adidas sneakers that are going to need replacing. I'm looking for some some recommendations from shoe connoisseurs or more experienced people working in a warehouse setting. [more inside]posted by Sgt.Grumbless at 8:31 PM PST - 19 comments

Microsoft Word, basic question: I'd like to have the title on my Word document show up automatically/repeat on each new page that I type so I don't have to add it and center it each time. I'm sure it's easy but I honestly don't know how to do this and have searched to no avail. Any help? posted by slow, man at 8:18 PM PST - 3 comments

Eye Contacts Advice: I have tried Frequency 55 Toric. They often feel like they are suffocating my eye balls and the astigmatism correction is just as bad. [more inside]posted by stlboi at 7:47 PM PST - 10 comments

At work, our two part-time janitors don't speak any English. As the only Spanish (non-native, though) speaker in the office, I've decided to give them a hand...so I've started to spend my Sunday there, teaching them English. But I need some advice on how to do it better. [more inside]posted by jare2003 at 7:17 PM PST - 26 comments

Shakespeare's Hamlet reveals both a genuine (melancholy) Prince and a great schemer in the sense that he is able to feign madness. I've read it. And read it again. Still, I can't seem to pinpoint a place where we are are unsure if his words are part of the plan or just crazy talk. Can you point to me to a part? Also, what tipped you off? Thanks. posted by time to put your air goggles on! at 7:14 PM PST - 26 comments

Looking for ideas for, or companies that provide one-stop shopping for association/club membership benefits/perks. I run a large association of technology entrepreneurs and executives and would like to obtain or negotiate some cool additional benefits for our members. Like the kind you get when you join AAA or Diner's Club... [more inside]posted by pallen123 at 6:21 PM PST - 1 comment

i think there is a term--rhetorical or otherwise-- for the way "conspiracy theory" can serve to cloud the environment of ideas thereby rendering politically unpopular notions inert regardless of their veracity.
anybody know what im struggling to effin describe and label? posted by oigocosas at 5:42 PM PST - 28 comments

I'm a sophomore physics major at a fairly prestigious university (USN&WR Top 25) known for its technical and scientific offerings. My parents currently pay for tuition and dorm housing, with no financial aid. However, my grades have been lower than they expected, and they are now refusing to pay for me to return next year. What are my options? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 5:13 PM PST - 40 comments

I'm looking for a tutorial on using Audacity to record streaming audio off the net. I can get it to record sound, but it seems to be doing it through my microphone with corresponding degraded quality and ambient noise. [more inside]posted by ialwayscryatendings at 4:29 PM PST - 10 comments

I am trying to transfer a couple of websites from 1and1 beginner accounts to dreamhost. I usually do this by zipping or tarring the source site and then ftp.
The rub is that the 1and beginner package does not allow shell access (although the target does). I'm looking at wget but I don't see a way to make it copy hidden files, which could bite me later if there are some config files buried in there somewhere. Probably missing something real obvious here. Any ideas? posted by Manjusri at 4:25 PM PST - 16 comments

I'm a foreign national with permanent residence in the US living in Providence, RI. What is my legal status as regards driving? I do have an Icelandic, EU-approved driver's license, but not an American one. [more inside]posted by Kattullus at 3:01 PM PST - 22 comments

LastMinuteCostumeFilter: Due to poor planning / organizational skillz, I find myself in need of (and sorely lacking) a pseudo-80's costume for an upcoming barbershop chorus performance on Saturday night. I'm too fat for all my old 80s clothes; hope me!
PS - I have ready access to Goodwill and Salvation Army retail stores, so ideas around getting this done inexpensively would be fabulous. TIA! posted by ZakDaddy at 2:42 PM PST - 12 comments

GynoFilter: Please help me find a good, compassionate, and knowledgable gynecologist in the Bay Area (preferably East Bay but will travel. Preferably female but am flexible). [more inside]posted by anonymous at 2:18 PM PST - 11 comments

Somewhere in the office chatter I agreed to bring food from my "culture" to an office happy hour Friday. I'm a European mutt with let's say a Scandinavian plurality. Any recommendations on something I could pick up at the average supermarket? [more inside]posted by lbergstr at 1:55 PM PST - 18 comments

another copyright/fair use question: making a version of "Annie" with a cast of non-verbal developmentally disabled kids, using the soundtrack and some dialogue from 1982 film version, what are the egal issues? [more inside]posted by annoyance at 1:04 PM PST - 12 comments

Strange problem with chkdsk in windows 2000. My machines currently have latest Zone alarm (virus prot disabled), Diskeeper 2007, and Kaspersky AVP 6.0. I am noticing unusual behavior on both of them, but more so on one of them than the other. [more inside]posted by flyby22 at 11:48 AM PST - 4 comments

Is there a Mac DVD player that will allow me to increase the playback speed while not causing the actors to sound like Karen Walker from "Will and Grace" or the resident munchkins from Oz? [more inside]posted by HotPatatta at 11:43 AM PST - 15 comments

Access SQL Query - I have multiple individuals each with an address. I need to make mailing labels, but if two or more people share an address, I would only like one label. [more inside]posted by odinsdream at 11:10 AM PST - 9 comments

I’ve accepted a new job in St Louis and am moving up with the family from the Florida panhandle this summer. Are there any recommendations for good neighborhoods? [more inside]posted by JimBobNoPants at 10:58 AM PST - 23 comments

PantsFilter (mens division): It took me 30 years to find a cut of jeans that I think are comfortable and stylish enough. And then Levi's discontinued the 567s. [more inside]posted by Ookseer at 10:41 AM PST - 9 comments

Super-specific obsolete iPod question: I recently got a refurbed 1G iPod Nano, which I was using in conjunction with an AirPlay^2 transmitter that has stopped working (and was never great in the first place). It looks like my cheapest alternatives are the discontinued Griffin Nanotrip (which doesn't even show up on their support pages) and their iTrip Auto. Does anyone have experience with these? [more inside]posted by blueshammer at 9:02 AM PST - 5 comments

Don't laugh - am I right to let my body image issues get in the way of getting a massage? Are there cases where that is a legitimate concern? [more inside]posted by Ash3000 at 8:23 AM PST - 31 comments

What kind of exercise would I find most fun & rewarding?
I like baking. I like computers. I like debate. I like learning in a scatterbrain, whatever-interests-me-at-the-moment way. I like, in short, interactive, iterative activities that reward exploration and self-learning, and that start giving (at least small) rewards very quickly. Don't like group learning or scheduled lessons, and don't want to have to depend on a partner to show up. Need something that can be done on a regular basis. Thanks. posted by shivohum at 8:07 AM PST - 20 comments

I'm trying to remember information about an experimental film, possibly Russian, most likely from the first half of the 20th century, and neither google nor my memory are offering much help. The key element is that the artist built something like a tripod, but with the capability of full, spherical rotation of the camera, 360 degrees around all possible axes. [more inside]posted by nobody at 7:54 AM PST - 4 comments

I'm looking for examples of a modern day Saul of Tarsus. Individuals who were relatively successful at persecuting others and then suddenly changed sides. [more inside]posted by Baby_Balrog at 7:47 AM PST - 31 comments

This product claims to save electricity through some sort of voltage and current regulation. This raises my suspicions, but there might be some explanation for it I've missed, probably down to some peculiarity of mains electricity? posted by edd at 7:25 AM PST - 17 comments

I have a Linux box (Ubuntu Edgy) that I would like to be able to send mail to an Exchange server. It also needs to send/receive locally. Which MTA will actually allow me to do this and are directions for configuring it available? I've found lots of vague references but very little "program X will do this and here's how" kind of stuff. posted by tommasz at 6:29 AM PST - 9 comments

Is it difficult to relocate/adjust to San Francisco from New York, in terms of culture such as DJ (IDM, ambient) clubs/art/literary type things? [more inside]posted by four panels at 6:24 AM PST - 7 comments

Is the expression "Too many chiefs, not enough indians" culturally insensitive? If so, help me think of a clever way of expressing the same idea using the same "too many x, not enough y" format. posted by pasici at 6:10 AM PST - 34 comments

I realise this is a very sensitive topic at the moment, but that's what makes it so relevant. It seems to me that the US has a history of school shooting type incidents that no other country has. Is that true? If so, what is it that makes this more common in the US than anywhere else? [more inside]posted by twirlypen at 4:06 AM PST - 50 comments

Music video song filter: I believe the song/video was released in 1999. The music video consisted of people walking around with batteries strapped to their backs and I believe one of them was in the brain of a mini-robot. The song was on the charts the same time Britney Spears released, "Baby One More Time" but it was dramatically different than anything she would ever put out. I believe it was a male group. posted by 913 at 12:49 AM PST - 3 comments

I use Mellel for writing in Kazak on OS X. I have files in Cyrillic which I need to transliterate into their Arabic alphabet. It isn't a straight letter-letter deal though. How do I correctly find and replace so that үн becomes ٴۇن, not ۇن, ,for example. (In other words, "if ә,ө,ү,і, but no г,к,е, add ٴ to front of word") [more inside]posted by steppe at 12:11 AM PST - 4 comments

Music Search Techniques:
Is there an easier/more effective way to find the title of a CD/album when you only know the artist and the song title? [more inside]posted by davidinmanhattan at 9:11 PM PST - 12 comments

I'm trying to find a puzzle/adventure book from my childhood. It was about Atlantis and it was beautifully illustrated... ring a bell? [more inside]posted by BlackLeotardFront at 8:13 PM PST - 5 comments

what kind of solutions are there to watching tv shows "on demand." i have to watch my budget and the $1.99 charges are uneasy. i know torrenting is a possibility, but i've been becoming more and more wary of torrenting. i use an imac running os x 10.4 - are there any solutions to be found there? [more inside]posted by willmillar at 7:44 PM PST - 15 comments

I'm interested in setting up a Flash Media Server. According to Adobe, you must be running Red Hat Enterprise 3 or 4 for this to work. Is it possible that you could run an FMS on centOS? posted by localhuman at 7:42 PM PST - 2 comments

What's a good alternate well-wishing statement to "good luck" that doesn't have anything to do with luck, fate, deism of any kind, or assorted other superstitions that still conveys good wishes? [more inside]posted by ChrisR at 6:22 PM PST - 76 comments

My fiancee and are going to have her dad and sister play a song during our wedding ceremony, think two acoustic guitars and two voices. We are looking for recommendations for a song for them to play. We have a bunch of ideas of our own, but we are looking for things we haven't thought of. posted by tirebouchon at 5:53 PM PST - 31 comments

I'll be the DJ at this event. I am trying to put together a playlist with lots of songs about being a loser -- or songs that in some other way evoke high-school loserdom, nerd/geek status, etc. I'm personally partial to '80s music and electronic pop, but open to anything (and I want to mix it up). Suggestions? posted by Artifice_Eternity at 3:41 PM PST - 76 comments

I'm looking for a recommendation for an eye doctor/ contact lens specialist in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. I wear gas-permeable lenses and need a new prescription and lenses. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! posted by airguitar2 at 2:22 PM PST - 1 comment

I need to know which book-related web service/API is best (most complete archive, most up-to-date, most metadata) for looking up information about books given an ISBN-10 or ISBN-13. [more inside]posted by basicchannel at 1:50 PM PST - 10 comments

Uh oh, it's the office chair question again! But this time, i only have $200 to spend (since my dept is budgetarily limited). I'm obviously not looking for Aeron/Leap quality, but something that doesn't leave me in pain would be nicce. [more inside]posted by softlord at 1:38 PM PST - 15 comments

I am 36 years old. My wife is 33 years old. We got married recently. Are we too old to have kids ?
I feel age is not on our side.
We are doing healthwise and finanically good. posted by tom123 at 1:16 PM PST - 74 comments

I'm hankering for some curry fries after having had some on my trip to Ireland recently...do any of you UK/Ireland types have a recipe you like for a curry sauce suitable to serve with french fries (you know, chips)? I can find plenty of curry sauce recipes easily enough online, but I'm interested in some personal favorites. posted by briank at 12:43 PM PST - 23 comments

Probably a dead-simple CSS question. I'm trying to pad an image in a Wordpress based blog so that the text isn't crunched right up against it. [more inside]posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:13 PM PST - 12 comments

When an olive is missing it's pimento, some famous literary person (possibly Dorothy Parker) said that a little mischievous creature was responsible. What was the name of this creature? posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:08 PM PST - 9 comments

Is there any way to have desktop icons in OS X sit on the left side of the screen instead of the right? I can move them to the left side, but the grid makes it so I can't sit the icons right against the left side - there's a huge gap, instead. posted by apetpsychic at 12:06 PM PST - 6 comments

My wife and her three siblings have decided to re-invest the money they have received from the sale of their deceased mother's stake in a Cancun vacation home.
They want to purchase another vacation home with the money. Together. [more inside]posted by notyou at 11:13 AM PST - 12 comments

How would you recommend repairing a heavy plastic (clear tarp like material with what appears to be fiberglass threads in it for strength) green house flexible cover. After about 10 years of use in the cold region of upper Michigan, my wife’s portable greenhouse (door and a few areas along the metal framing) are worn and starting to rip apart. I’ve tried the tried and true “duct tape” and clear plastic vinyl to patch the rips and it only lasted one year. I’d love to get another 5-7 years out of the greenhouse and wouldn’t mind spending up to $100.00 to repair it. Any ideas or suggestions would be certainly appreciated. Thanks in advance…. posted by orlin at 11:00 AM PST - 14 comments

What would you want to say to a community of brand new thinkers/changers/makers? Or what advice can you give me about commencement speeches in general? [more inside]posted by SoylentErin at 9:48 AM PST - 12 comments

When I was a kid, I found a bizarre pen at my grandmother's house. It was a marker with a roller on the tip and it created a dot pattern similar to zip-a-tone when you wrote with it. The ink was a dull purple, like Spider-Man's webbing in a comic book. She called it a "fax highlighter," but I've never been able to find such a thing in office supply stores or on the internet. It sure would be cool to have one for shading and creating a unique look in quick sketches. Help? posted by clango at 9:17 AM PST - 18 comments

How do I (a recent grad) find a job at a boutique bank/hedge fund, preferably in NYC/Manhattan? Is there a Monster.com for this? Or will I find good results with large job hunting sites such as Monster? Suggestions on banks to contact or list of banks are appreciated. [more inside]posted by geoff. at 8:53 AM PST - 16 comments

Is there anyplace that has a good television buyers guide? I'm familiar with AVS Forum which seems like a good resource once you've narrowed it down to some choices, but I'm still a ways away from that point. I've also read some CNET articles which seem to suffer from the same kind of tunnel vision as I saw on AVS Forum, but of course it's possible I just didn't find the right article. [more inside]posted by willnot at 8:52 AM PST - 8 comments

Any idea where a Yank might purchase an A5 binder? I love the A5 notebooks by Miquelrius, and am seeking a two-ring binder in which to store its pages, but can't seem to find one here in the States. posted by shallowcenter at 7:37 AM PST - 8 comments

I shaved my face last night in order to buy me some more time this morning, but it seems like I overdid it, and now there are giant red blotches of irritation all over my face and neck. I have a date tonight. Help me to not look like a chump? [more inside]posted by logovisual at 7:35 AM PST - 20 comments

I've set up my BlackBerry Enterprise Server, but now I'm trying to connect via a GSM network and it won't activate. What have I done wrong? [more inside]posted by samstarling at 3:12 AM PST - 13 comments

I'm selling an item on ebay (large, collection only thing) and two people have now mailed me asking if I would withdraw the item and they could pay cash right now. This smells fishy to me. Am I being unduly paranoid? [more inside]posted by handee at 12:35 AM PST - 38 comments

Are there any non-AA/MA marijuana recovery options? I'm stuck in a rut living alone in a town where I don't know many people, smoking daily, and I can't break this 15 year habit. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 9:27 PM PST - 32 comments

FeetFilter - Looking a great shoe insert I can put in my gym sneakers that provide anti-odor, are moisture absorbent, and provide support and cushioning. I don't want to get a cheap pair and would rather spend the money on something thats reliable and durable. Any suggestions? [more inside]posted by deeman at 7:46 PM PST - 3 comments

Tax Filter: If you are not required to file your taxes, and you file an extension, do you have to file your taxes? Other tax questions inside [more inside]posted by stuffedcrust at 7:40 PM PST - 8 comments

I'm going to Europe in about 5 to 6 weeks and about to purchase the airline ticket. Problem is, I dont know when I will be coming back nor where I will be when I return. [more inside]posted by Gaiwan at 4:55 PM PST - 20 comments

Home appliances filter: A friend was kind enough to give me a gently used burr grinder to replace the horrible blade grinder I was using to grind coffee beans for my first brew of the morning. [more inside]posted by 543DoublePlay at 4:51 PM PST - 12 comments

Can anyone recommend an allergist in Chicago? I live in Andersonville; someone nearby would be nice. Also, since my insurance is evil, does anyone know how much allergy immunotherapy (shots or sublingual) runs out of pocket? posted by rbs at 4:11 PM PST - 2 comments

I recently broke my patella in two parts. I made a drawing to show how the damage was done. The red line shows how the patella broke, and the blue line is how the pin was drilled in. [more inside]posted by PowerCat at 4:02 PM PST - 6 comments

What's the person called whose job it is to select appropriate music for movies/television shows/etc? How does one go about landing a job doing this? [more inside]posted by c:\awesome at 3:41 PM PST - 17 comments

Mefites, I need your collective witty-ness. I am writing a blog about Real estate, particularly in the Metro-detroit area. I am trying to come up with a witty title... [more inside]posted by Bjkokenos at 3:35 PM PST - 23 comments

Help me gauge current social take on the phrase "that's so gay", and possibly decide on some rules about it's use in my new closed virtual community. [more inside]posted by Skyriss at 2:22 PM PST - 60 comments

Am I nuts in asking why more than usual high-profile, mass killings seem to happen in the mid-April timframe -- Waco, April 19; Oklahoma City, April 19; Columbine, April 20; and now this tragedy in Virginia. Is this an early Spring phenomenon? I often mention to my sister, whose birthday is April 20, about how bad things always seem to happen around her special day -- she is a great person. Any observations? posted by terrier319 at 12:31 PM PST - 53 comments

Appartment management companies have rediculously high credit requirements in Los Angeles. Is it legal for my mother to rent an appartment and for me and my roommate to just live there and pay rent? My mother would not be living there and the managment company probably wouldnt know. If this is not legal, what is the legal action that the management copany can take? This managment company does not accept co-signors. Please help! posted by Charlie Lesoine at 12:15 PM PST - 8 comments

I was fired from my last job--due primarily to a personality conflict with my former manager--and am applying for another one. They want to know if they can contact my former manager. I can only give a "Yes" or "No" answer, I believe. Additionally, the job I'm applying for is a federal one, if that makes a difference. What's best? Thanks in advance! posted by whitebird at 11:35 AM PST - 19 comments

Can anyone recommend a tailor in Seattle or the Eastside? I need alterations done on several pieces of women's clothing, somewhat more complicated than just doing hems, so I would like a real tailor, not a dry cleaning shop that does alterations. I've already Googled, but would much prefer a referral to someone whose services you have actually used. posted by matildaben at 10:25 AM PST - 5 comments

Why was my jar of tomato sauce under pressure and the sauce bubbly? I had a half-full jar of tomato sauce that was closed and refrigerated. When opening the jar in order to use the sauce, the air pressure inside the jar was higher than the air pressure in the room and air escaped with a woosh, similar to opening a bottle of carbonated liquid (like seltzer.) Bubbles developed in the sauce in the jar, and a quick tasting of the sauce revealed that the sauce caused a sensation similar to carbonation. What was going on here? posted by andrewraff at 10:05 AM PST - 16 comments

A year or so ago, a popular meme circulating via email was an illustration of how the brain can read through text with egregious typos. It was a passage rife with reversed, ommitted, or superfluous letters, but was perfectly readable. Can anyone come up with it? Thanmks! posted by jimmyjimjim at 9:22 AM PST - 16 comments

I'm working on what I think will be a GUI application and need some advise on framework friendly with Macintosh OS X, that won't drive me crazy. (Long description of what I've looked at inside.) [more inside]posted by KirkJobSluder at 8:38 AM PST - 8 comments

I'm 18 and I had to move out of my parents house. I'm in an apartment in Jersey City. I don't have cockroaches, there aren't any leaks, its a really great apartment and these are all small things that I've been dealing with the last few months. [more inside]posted by rubberkey at 7:23 AM PST - 20 comments

I'm trying to open an .avi movie someone sent to me. I get sound but no image. I tried quicktime, then divx, but no luck. Anyone know any sure-fire ways to play it successfully? (for an iBook G4) posted by jgballard at 7:06 AM PST - 13 comments

Can I run ~300ft of ethernet cable from my modem to my router, and then another ~300ft of ethernet cable to a computer, without degrading my connection to the internet? posted by subpixel at 6:59 AM PST - 14 comments

I believe my son, a high school student, would benefit from seeing a cognitive behavioral therapist. He is a great kid in so many ways, but he does not see this and is very self-critical. [more inside]posted by merejane at 6:28 AM PST - 7 comments

Been watching early episodes of The Office (UK version). The lead character, a vain, self-important white-collar middle manager, speaks with a Cockney accent. This Yank is damn confused. [more inside]posted by Gordion Knott at 4:53 AM PST - 55 comments

Gmail question, here's the scenario: I want to forward an email to an ad hoc list of people (meaning, not a group I've forwarded to before, or am likely to again). I open the email, I hit reply, and on the To: line, I click....what? [more inside]posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 2:45 AM PST - 9 comments

SE Queensland Dentist Filter: I need a dentist. But I want a nice one, or at least a non-judgmental one—I've had mean dentists! Needless to say, this has stopped me from going for quite a long time. I have decided to get braces though, so I need to have my teeth given the all-clear before approaching an orthodontist. I also need a recommendation for the orthodontist! Brisbane / Gold Coast area. [more inside]posted by mjao at 2:01 AM PST - 3 comments

The trailer for a remake of the John Waters classic Hairspray left me wondering... Are there any other movies out there that were remade in a totally new genre? [more inside]posted by trivirgata at 9:40 PM PST - 46 comments

Kosher vs. kosher-for-passover: what's the real deal here? Can something be "Kosher for Passover" that is NOT ordinarily kosher the rest of the year? That would seem like a mighty expensive proposition, to me.... (vs. say, some foodstuff that is typically kosher all year, but only needs to be certified hometz-free for Passover, after which it goes back to being ordinary Kosher) posted by bitterkitten at 9:21 PM PST - 20 comments

I need help people. I'm very interested in some research about antidepressants and about how they inhibit love and feelings. There are many articles about this online but I'm having trouble finding any corroborating evidence from other researchers (everything that I've found lists Dr. Helen Fisher of Rutgers as the source). I'm also interested in any research that disputes this, other than that from the drug companies themselves, obviously. [more inside]posted by Brachiosaurus at 8:56 PM PST - 9 comments

Yet another Sci-Fi ID request: I once read a tongue-in-cheek short story involving a fidgety time travel portal, dinosaurs, and culinary adventures. [more inside]posted by Johnny Assay at 8:18 PM PST - 6 comments

I am part of a committee whose members are spread across the country. We are looking for an open source or inexpensive database application that can be accessed on the web. We need for it to allow a few users to edit the data (membership information for our association) and for many users to be able to view the database without editing it. Basically we want Mircosoft Access but available on the web. [more inside]posted by losdestinos at 6:38 PM PST - 15 comments

As I get older (and possibly more cantankerous) I'm becoming less willing to spend good money on potentially bad books (well, maybe not bad per se, but books I don't enjoy). Once upon a time, in the increasingly dim past, I used to purchase many books on the assumption that some would prove worth reading. Now, books are becoming increasingly expensive in Australia, and I'm consequently becoming more and more demanding that the book be worth reading before I part with my cash. [more inside]posted by planetthoughtful at 6:38 PM PST - 42 comments

I have a new hard drive that I have added into my system. I've partitioned it three ways. The first partition is what I would like to add onto /opt, the second is some additional swap (added with no problem), and the third is the one that I'd like to add onto /home. How do I make this work with UnionFS? [more inside]posted by Xoder at 1:30 PM PST - 8 comments

I picked up Stephen Wolfram's A New Kind of Science, but the introduction alone puts Wolfram high up on the crackpot index. Reccommend some other introductions to cellular automata. posted by tylermoody at 12:37 PM PST - 17 comments

I am trying to connect my G4 iBook to my TV, but apparently I don't have the right combination of output cables. I need some advice here. [more inside]posted by mattbucher at 12:28 PM PST - 12 comments

Hi:
I would like to know if anyone has had experience with Mandibular Advancement Device. I have allergies which cause my nasal passages to get totally block at night. When I do fall off to sleep I wake up due lack of Oxgyen. I have tried nasal strips, they dont work well, and I don't like taking drugs. Please let me know if its worth buying one of these devices..... I need a good night's sleep. posted by Noodles at 8:58 AM PST - 6 comments

Canadian tax question: After six years of university (undergrad and an M.Phil), I am about to start working. Will I need to pay taxes on income that I use immediately to pay off student loans? [more inside]posted by sindark at 6:53 AM PST - 11 comments

In the "Casa Bonita" episode of South Park, Jimmy tells the setup of a knock-knock joke:
-Knock-knock!
-Who's there?
-Ingmar Bergman!
-Ingmar Bergman, who?
Before he can tell us the punchline, he is literally punched-out by Cartman. So my question is, does anyone know of an existing punchline to this joke? My hunch is that the South Park guys just made this one up. And if that's the case, can anyone think of a great punchline for this setup? posted by fac21 at 5:56 AM PST - 16 comments

I have a client who commissioned some web work from me and then dropped the bombshell when I had completed the project that they didn’t have the funds in place to pay me fully until they’ve sold more advertising on it. What can I do? [more inside]posted by toocan at 3:51 AM PST - 32 comments

My fiance and I are planning a wedding in Hawaii for September this year. We're looking for a nice chapel wedding somewhere on Oahu, someplace with a nice view on the beach (but not a beach ceremony).
I'm American, she's Japanese, and we live in Tokyo. We've gotten some Hawaiian wedding catalogs from travel agencies here that have all sorts of package deals, but I think they're way overpriced (though the little missus doesn't seem to care), and I'd like to bypass doing it through Japanese travel agencies and contact the various chapels directly. I haven't found many useful chapel homepages, though. Any MeFiers who got married in Hawaii? Any sources on Hawaiian chapels out there? posted by zardoz at 2:22 AM PST - 10 comments

Possible Hypochondriac-filter. I have an itch that keeps showing up in the exact same place; around the top of my left shoulder-blade. Normally I wouldn't worry about it at all and think "Oh it's just an itch" but the fact that it keeps coming back pretty much in the same spot on a fairly frequent basis (every few hours or so) makes me question if this is something I should be worried about? posted by Second Account For Making Jokey Comments at 1:33 AM PST - 16 comments

Does anyone know of good coffee shops (and I do mean actual coffee) in Amsterdam? The kind where you can sit, maybe on a couch, with a book? The Vienna kind? I would really like to find one, but the dutch don't seem to have much of a coffee shop culture. It seems so silly to ask here because I actually live in Amsterdam (and you probably don't), but I've been looking for ages and nobody I know has been able to point me to one, and obviously googling for "amsterdam" and "coffee shop" isn't giving me the right answers. posted by Skyanth at 10:02 PM PST - 17 comments

Anxiety about the long term prognosis for the United States, the middle class, homo sapiens sapiens. Am I the only one who finds the fear about these things overwhelming? If I am the only one, what comfort should I take? [more inside]posted by cloudscratcher at 7:28 PM PST - 61 comments

One week in Italy, one week in Greece, two weeks in Spain. What can't I miss? What should I avoid? Where should I stay? What else should I know? [more inside]posted by crinklebat at 4:36 PM PST - 24 comments

I have some new neighbors from Bosnia and I would like to something cool to welcome them to our 'hood and their new home. The fun stuff is inside. [more inside]posted by snsranch at 4:22 PM PST - 17 comments

Last year, I used H&R Block's web site to file my taxes. At the time, I was working on a PC laptop. Now, I'm using Mac, and none of the h&r tax filing apps are rendering properly. I tried using Firefox, Safari, Explorer, and Opera to no avail. Are there any 'free file Companies' on the web for Mac-Users? posted by sswiller at 3:27 PM PST - 13 comments

I'm considering a web project that would be a day-by-day chronicle of a historical period. My primary sources would be 2-3 books that are day-by-day accounts of the period. Can I use the facts from the books if I use my own words? I would list the books as references on the site. posted by kirkaracha at 3:12 PM PST - 10 comments

SheetMusicFilter: I need sheet music for the theme from Schindler's List, by John Williams, for violin plus piano accompaniment. If you find only the piano acompaniment, that works too. [more inside]posted by alona at 12:25 PM PST - 3 comments

Tsunami-filter: I have a two part question about the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004. One involves the BBC/HBO miniseries "Tsunami: The Aftermath," and the other involves the guerilla warfare going on in Indonesia at the time. [more inside]posted by np312 at 10:40 AM PST - 5 comments

I have $100,000. What the hell should I do with it?
I'm 24.
I have no credit card debt at all.
I never went to college, so I have no loans to pay.
I still live at home, so I have no rent/mortgage.
I drive a car that has already been paid for.
I'm self employed, but it isn't something that really needs money "put into it." Like, I don't need better equipment or a bigger office or advertising or anything like that.
What I'm wondering is, what should I do with this money? [more inside]posted by creative at 10:19 AM PST - 45 comments

I need a replacement 12.1" touchscreen in Phoenix, AZ, by tomorrow, or for some serious tech people to help me trick a MacDermid Colorspan 9840UV into accepting non-touchscreen input as touchscreen input. [more inside]posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:32 PM PST - 3 comments

A headhunter has contacted me about a job that I'm really interested in. Would it be better to go through them, or approach the company on my own? [more inside]posted by talkingplant at 9:11 PM PST - 20 comments

Every time I go to a classic barbershop, I have noticed that they receive every magazine and newspaper under-the-sun. I recently asked my barber how he affords all of them, and he says that they just show up. Does anyone know how this happens? I assume the publishers have programs that identify and send free subscriptions to places where people "wait?" Does anyone know more about formal services that facilitate this? posted by tdabbott at 7:37 PM PST - 14 comments

What can I do with myself for two weeks in July? My son and his father will be traveling to England with the kid's choir, and I'll be home in Fairfield County, Connecticut (about 45 minutes by commuter train from NYC), probably feeling horribly lonely. [more inside]posted by houseofdanie at 5:35 PM PST - 8 comments

I'm drinking some rubbish whisky bought as a present that I am enjoying more each time I drink it- can it ruin my palate and appreciation of fine malts? On a wider note the same question but with wine, food etc. [more inside]posted by Gratishades at 5:22 PM PST - 25 comments

To get over my problem with exercise boring me senseless, I'd like to combine a really comfortable (as in comfy seat with back support) way of pedalling to keep fit at home, with using a laptop computer to access the web, How can I best do this? Has anyone else tried this and did it work? [more inside]posted by Flitcraft at 4:20 PM PST - 10 comments

How do you get rid of Mormons who come to your door, no muss, no fuss. Apparently saying "I'm not interested" doesn't work. Is there any code word that works? [more inside]posted by DarkForest at 1:24 PM PST - 120 comments

Point me towards some online games that allow players to link up and play a game together by remote access. Bonus points for things not too mentally taxing, for times when one wants to just veg. [more inside]posted by AthenaPolias at 1:19 PM PST - 7 comments

Where should I study jewelry-making in New York? (Looking for a full bench certificate program, not at a college and not an individual class, but flexible if it is an excellent class) [more inside]posted by rmless at 12:51 PM PST - 1 comment

Picture this: three squares arranged in a triangular formation... one on top, two on the bottom. Does it have any symbolic meaning? Is it a company logo? [more inside]posted by hummercash at 12:12 PM PST - 17 comments

Barbeque season is soon upon us (in the U.S., anyway), and I need a grill -- charcoal, not gas. I'm leaning toward the classic Weber kettle, but I'm intrigued by the Barbecook Oyster. Anyone have experience with it, and know where I might find it in the States other than directly through the manufacturer's site? [more inside]posted by schoolgirl report at 11:51 AM PST - 11 comments

I cannot get Google products (GoogleEarth and Picasa) to link to Opera (or Firefox or anything) when they need to open up a webpage. Has my using Opera and Firefox somehow confused these pieces of software? [more inside]posted by yet.another.boston.question at 11:43 AM PST - 3 comments

[Canada filter] I was very impressed with what I heard at a lecture about immigrating to Canada. But is everything they said really true? [more inside]posted by AnyGuelmann at 10:29 AM PST - 47 comments

My partner claims that Axe is the only deodorant that doesn't go rancid on her within a couple hours, but I have serious objections to supporting that offensive and misogynistic company. I need suggestions for deodorants that will make my partner feel clean and nice-smelling and yet not set off my moral objection sensor. [more inside]posted by arcticwoman at 9:26 AM PST - 50 comments

A huge chip (approx. an 8" x 1" strip) came off the porcelain on my kitchen sink while I was washing dishes this morning. The sink is 60 years old (like my apartment) and was a bit cracked and discolored when I moved in 11 years ago. I was not doing anything more than normal dish washing when the damage occurred (no heavy pots or anything like that). Will my landlord by justified in making me pay for the repairs? (He will definitely try.) I'm in California if that makes a difference. posted by ljshapiro at 9:20 AM PST - 15 comments

I have a bunch of wooden casing moldings around the interior doors of our Washington, DC home, and over the past 75 to 100 years, they've taken quite a beating. I'd love to slowly replace the worst of them with identical moldings, but despite a pretty exhaustive search on my own, I can't find anyone who still carries anything with the same profile. Does anyone have any tips for molding manufacturers/sellers that have good variety, especially of moldings that are accurate to the turn-of-the-century period? [more inside]posted by delfuego at 8:27 AM PST - 12 comments

I'd like to take my sweetheart dancing tonight in NYC. Not hip-hop or grinding, but something almost like a wedding reception - good classics for dancing, maybe some swing, maybe some rock and roll, maybe some country, maybe the twist - I definitely want to twirl her across the dance floor. We're not expert dancers we just want to go have some fun, and cheap-to-free is good too. We're coming from Astoria but anywhere in the city works for me. Pre-dancing dinner suggestions would be nice too. [more inside]posted by pithy comment at 8:11 AM PST - 4 comments

I'm using GeSHi for syntax highlighting but I am looking for a GeSHi theme that does Eclipse syntax highlighting. With Eclipse being such a popular IDE I'm sure someone has created such a theme for GeSHi, but alas my attempts to find one have failed. Anyone have any tips/direction for me? Thanks! posted by andytmp at 7:49 AM PST - 2 comments

My brother is seriously considering enlisting in either the Navy or the Marines. Can anyone point me to good, fairly unbiased sources for the information he needs to make his decision? I’ve read the older posts, but found nothing dead on point. [more inside]posted by BeerGrin at 6:52 AM PST - 17 comments

April 12

Real estate pee etiquettefilter: Is it kosher to use the bathroom in a house that you're viewing for purposes of buying? Does it make a difference if the house is vacant or still occupied? [more inside]posted by saladpants at 11:36 PM PST - 28 comments

/bookfilter Looking to find the name of the author and the story to this contemporary short story written like 10 to 20 years ago. The title was the Girls of Saint Dunstter cant find the exact spelling on the dunstter but it a play on Dumpster. In the short story the teacher is beaten up by these girls who are the terror and as he is recovering his imaginery father ask him why he would want to help out these girls, it really cant be cause he wants a bit of the juicy rough. And the Teacher explains that he wants to learn how these girls live in a world without romance. The author might have been name hawking or something. thank you posted by Rolandkorn at 10:40 PM PST - 2 comments

Printing documents using about 25 different pre-printed forms, mixing a4 and letter formats. Where can I find a printing system with about that many paper trays? [more inside]posted by stereo at 10:30 PM PST - 6 comments

what song is this? in the music video for it, a guy is at a cafe, the waitress is middle-aged, tired and dressed kind of like princess leia, and a biker storms in and looks kind of like darth vader. the guy and kinda-darth fight, naturally. posted by lia at 9:59 PM PST - 3 comments

I have a fast metabolism and I want to give myself enough fuel to put on muscle with weight training. What should I eat from a nutrition standpoint? There's too much diet fad noise out there... [more inside]posted by baking soda at 8:25 PM PST - 14 comments

Buying a new LCD monitor for my desktop computer. How do I know if a monitor can also serve as a display for Wii, PS2, Xbox 360? Or, what extra thingamajigs do I need to make this happen? [more inside]posted by Xere at 6:56 PM PST - 10 comments

I'm a dedicated cooking/food junkie nerd, and I'm starting to "need" stuff beyond what even Sam's, CostCo, etc., can hook me up with. Short of killing all the fun by launching a food-based business, how can I get access to the goodies available through the evilSysco empire or its equivalent? [more inside]posted by phrits at 6:22 PM PST - 11 comments

WorkEthicsFilter: So I abruptly quit my job, after realizing that I was being taken advantage of in a completely unfair way, that I spent most of my days crying, and that work was all I talked about in therapy sessions. My boss at my previous job has been calling me, offering me my old position back with the promise of a promotion in a few months. [more inside]posted by ScarletSpectrum at 6:20 PM PST - 20 comments

I saw a guy with an olive green shirt that had several rifles lined up in silhouette on front. In the middle of the rifles was a pink silhouette of a guitar. The back left shoulder had a small badge that said "Music is the weapon of the future" on it. Where can I find this shirt for sale? The person wearing it said it was a gift and he didn't know where it came from. posted by Addlepated at 6:05 PM PST - 9 comments

Interviewing people: I will be almost literally "thrown" into a potential new job opportunity , but I never ever interviewed a professional Chef...and its my first assignment ! Help , suggest me some questions you think a pro-chef would like to be asked ! posted by elpapacito at 5:49 PM PST - 24 comments

Okay, this is an enormous issue and I'm not finding any resources out there for help.
I recently found my son's biological father. My son is 26. [more inside]posted by nurse4kitties at 2:45 PM PST - 44 comments

How do you move past loving someone who is no longer in love with you? (assuming time and space apart are difficult?) or deal with you love for them until they're ready for you? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 2:07 PM PST - 19 comments

A few weeks ago while playfully wrestling around at a family gathering, I was basically tackled and a knee landed on my arm, pinning it to the ground. I did not have blinding pain or anything, but for a few days after that my arm and shoulder were pretty sore, and I've had trouble reaching behind my upper back with that arm. If it seems like it's getting a little better with time (though I'm still having trouble reaching around with it to my upper back), do I need to see a doctor or will it just get better on its own? [more inside]posted by onlyconnect at 1:36 PM PST - 11 comments

My wife and I are about to launch a new web startup. This is her second successful venture and I am moving from agency creative to join her. Throughout the process, there are many opportunities to reinvent the wheel and I would love to connect with other people that are putting their nest eggs on the line and taking the web 2.0 leap.
I am looking for a "founders forum" for entrepreneurs. Does anyone know of a forum or community that is centered around the trials and tribulations of serious startups? posted by Occams Hammer at 12:15 PM PST - 11 comments

[childhood memory filter] When I was in elementary school, there was a game I played at the day care I was enrolled in over the summer. You were in control of a yellow Submarine navigating through labyrinthine levels (?) and your only defense was ink pellets that stunned. [more inside]posted by phritosan at 11:32 AM PST - 9 comments

My SO & I were having a conversation yesterday that somehow landed on the topic of alien life. Essentially, I said something to the effect of "even if there is intelligent life somewhere in the universe...". [more inside]posted by Laura in Canada at 11:00 AM PST - 61 comments

A few years ago I saw on TV that the General Services Administration and congress sell off their furniture and other stuff at low prices at a store of some kind in Virginia or Maryland? Is this for real? Where does a person find the store, is it online, and can I go there with a truck? My google-fu fails me. posted by parmanparman at 10:51 AM PST - 7 comments

Any chance of me watching the National online outside the UK ?
My extensive searching turned up naught.
Phoned me mum to put on a bet and it would be nice to see my pick fall at the first.
Help a punter out. posted by Webbster at 10:36 AM PST - 5 comments

In AOL (yes, sorry folks....not my fault, it's my co's.) they have a feature called RADIO@AOL...... is there a way that I can copy/record into an MP3 format? posted by foodybat at 9:31 AM PST - 8 comments

Austin Filter: While I've found quite a few postings here and on "the google" regarding the best neighborhoods in Austin, none seem to mention the zip codes of said neighborhoods. [more inside]posted by captaindistracto at 9:28 AM PST - 31 comments

Help me install Boot Drivers from a CD or in Windows. I don't have a Floppy Drive, but I already have Windows on my Machine. I can't install the Intel Storage Matrix because it doesn't detect the RAID controller in my BIOS, because it is disabled, because I can't boot into Windows when it is enabled. [more inside]posted by mhuckaba at 8:51 AM PST - 6 comments

My phone has a loud buzzing noise. When I touch the screw on a lightswitch plate, sink faucet or a metal lamp, the buzzing stops. What is happening – and more importantly how can I use the phone without having to ground myself? [more inside]posted by kamelhoecker at 8:18 AM PST - 4 comments

Where should I focus in my I.T. Career? I feel like my skills are a mile-wide and an inch thick and I am quickly becoming unmarketable. I am not sure if being a generalist is a good thing or not. [more inside]posted by kaizen at 7:55 AM PST - 9 comments

There is a house of considerable architectural significance near to where I live now that I have been lusting after forever. It is not, however, on the market. I have found the owners of the house through a public record search-they are the original owners since 1957. What is the best accepted way to approach them about selling? I don't want to seem too forward or intrusive. posted by gogomickey at 7:08 AM PST - 10 comments

I need to help 10 small nonprofit organizations set up websites. The main criteria is that these groups have to be able to maintain the sites themselves, without needing to learn HTML. Custom-CMS'es are too expensive. Does anyone have experience with good hosts that offer basic CMS-type interfaces? What's the best client-side site builder? I still use notepad for my web work(!), so am kind of in the dark as to what's available. posted by Framer at 5:58 AM PST - 22 comments

I've charged with adding a feature to a shift scheduler / coverage requestor that displays shift information for a given week. I've been able to display them so as to satisfy the constraints I've been given, but it's got me wondering wondering if there's a more rigorous/mathematical approach to the general problem of organizing the display of any such calendar information. [more inside]posted by Frankieist at 2:18 AM PST - 3 comments

I'm doing a lot of traveling in the next month or so. I really need some advice on luggage. I'm thinking of foregoing the standard suitcase and go with the Backpack approach. Is this wise? [more inside]posted by ryecatcher at 12:47 AM PST - 16 comments

I just bought what was once a very nice house in Maplewood, NJ (Essex County). It has become very rundown and was assessed by our mortgage company at a value of 340,000 in it's current condition. It was a great deal and after a little work will be amazing. Is there a way to have it's taxation rate changed based on the purchase price? Currently, it's very high. Is there somewhere I can go locally to ask about this? Also, anyone know how the property tax cuts will play out in NJ. posted by Shanachie at 10:33 PM PST - 6 comments

I'm setting up a little site that's like an encylopedia. I want the instant-linking that I've had in VooDoo pad (wiki)--when I type "Lincoln" it automatically links to the "Lincoln" page. But I don't need any other wiki features--this is not collaborative. Is there some way to just get that handy quick-link feature as I write my articles? Thanks, smarties! posted by largecorp at 10:19 PM PST - 8 comments

Is it socially acceptable for girls to engage in oral sex with different guys she has only met at parties? I just recently had unprotected oral sex with a girl on the belief that she had only one partner before me and that I would be able to get a long-term relationship out of it. You know that was the first time I had any kind of sex and according to her I'm still a virgin since oral sex doesn't count as "real sex". [more inside]posted by anonymous at 9:58 PM PST - 65 comments

Do any actual studies or data anywhere indicate that women travelers are more often the victims of crime than male travelers in the United States? Overseas? [more inside]posted by answergrape at 9:23 PM PST - 9 comments

I loved fairy tales as a child, and now that I am (nominally) a grownup, I love the "retellings" of fairytales — the fleshed-out versions which, for example, feature actual character development instead of lines like "she was as beautiful as she was good". I love Robin McKinley's retellings of "Donkeyskin", "Sleeping Beauty" and "Beauty and the Beast" (which she did twice for good measure), and Gregory Maguire's surprisingly political Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. What other good grown-up fairytales are out there? posted by orange swan at 8:52 PM PST - 60 comments

Trying to plan the perfect anniversary/vacation for two people (in their 20s) . Early June 2007. $3k budget all in. criteria 3 of the following: white sand beaches, jet skiing, amazing food, warm, great accommodations with ocean views; culture a plus, not tourist invested but still fun, relaxing. Any ideas? Links to places to stay or things to do much appreciated! posted by quiverandquill at 7:59 PM PST - 12 comments

I need to emboss a leather portfolio (i.e., a fancy company binder) with a silver 3"x3" logo. What's the easiest way to do this with a 3-day turnaround? [more inside]posted by phonepimpster at 7:29 PM PST - 4 comments

So my man and I are going Buenos Aires for ten days starting in about 2 weeks. I'm a theatre artist here in Austin and I know that BA has an interesting theatre scene that I'd like to check out. Anyone know of specific shows or companies that I should look for? (More about my tastes inside.) [more inside]posted by sonnet at 6:58 PM PST - 4 comments

So, when I fall asleep on my back I almost always have really intense, cold-sweat, dreams that are almost always very stressful and nightmarish. This never happens when I sleep on my side. Why is this? posted by protocool at 6:44 PM PST - 11 comments

My family and I will be moving to mid-town Memphis this summer. I originally thought private education was the only way to go in Memphis but after doing my research I am finding out that there are some public schools where academics are challenging and they offer more extracurricular activities than the private schools. I am leaning towards White Station high school and Snowden for elementary school. Appreciate any help. posted by bethrossrn at 6:26 PM PST - 5 comments

What young adult novel am I trying to remember about a friendship between and old man and a young boy which involved fishing (I think) and turkey hunting (definitely)? [more inside]posted by tcskeptic at 6:11 PM PST - 6 comments

Is there anything I can spray under my patio and around the backyard that will keep the mosquitos away without poisoning the well (or my dog)? [more inside]posted by Ufez Jones at 5:43 PM PST - 13 comments

David Wrench is a 7' Albino Welshman of Viking descent. He's also an amazing pop-artist. His tracks are not available at any site I can find online, his album is not for sale. Where can I find three of his tracks? [more inside]posted by JamesJD at 5:39 PM PST - 8 comments

Is there any credible possibility that credit card purchases of unsavory items (beer, cigarettes... well I don't smoke but you get the idea) might make their way indirectly onto a FICO score or be found out by lenders? Standing at the liquor store with a six of Boddingtons I can't help wondering if I should be paying cash. posted by zek at 5:11 PM PST - 14 comments

Has anyone tried the stuffing envelopes for money thing that you see in classified ads? Is it real, can you really make money off of it? [more inside]posted by thebrokenmuse at 4:40 PM PST - 12 comments

My movers finally arrived in Boston (Somerville) with my furniture and various items. Yay! But neither my sofa (my beloved red microfiber sofa, the whole reason I hired movers!) and my bed frame won't fit up the stairwell. Short of leaving them on the street is there anything I can do with them? [more inside]posted by FlamingBore at 3:57 PM PST - 22 comments

Relationship Filter: How do I stop myself from tallying stuff up then try to make myself dismiss it because I don't want to make our relationship into a scorecard but not being sucessful and end up feeling confused and emotional? And how do I talk about it with my boyfriend? [more inside]posted by spec80 at 3:21 PM PST - 28 comments

I was looking at the CNET site about the new OLPC laptops that were delivered to a village in Nigeria, and was shocked to see what appear to be McMansion-esque buildings in the background. Can anyone explain this? posted by dkleinst at 3:17 PM PST - 12 comments

What was the best computer game I've ever played called and how can I find it again? Somewhere around 1998-2000 I downloaded a shareware game (I think it was for Apple, but I also had a Windows machine then so it might have been for windows.) Help me find it again! Game description inside. [more inside]posted by limitedpie at 2:50 PM PST - 15 comments

This is so embarrassing. I'd post it anonymously if I didn't think I'd have to provide more info. Anyway...I set up my new iMac last night and didn't even think about the firewall 'til this afternoon. So it was off for something like 12 hours of broadband, static-IP connectedness to the Net. How hosed am I, and is there anything I can do to put some or all of the horses back in the barn? posted by bricoleur at 1:34 PM PST - 28 comments

We've got a wooden shelf in the bathroom in our (rented) apartment. We've been here two years now and it's gone very pale, and is stained a funny colour where water has landed on it. What should we do to return it to its former glory? (pretty much cleaning/DIY noobs, to be honest...) posted by ascullion at 1:29 PM PST - 12 comments

In Internet Explorer, my blog seems to be disappearing to the left. I'm fairly certain that it has something to do with my alteration to the original template's blockquote style. [more inside]posted by WCityMike at 12:32 PM PST - 10 comments

Please help me justify retainer fees for my website development business. I'm trying to justify it in my own mind and then possibly how to introduce the fees to clients. [more inside]posted by jpep at 11:45 AM PST - 13 comments

I'm getting a mortgage; I have been talking to my bank, and two mortgage brokers. They are competing, of course, but I'm not real clear on what's important. [more inside]posted by kmennie at 10:57 AM PST - 25 comments

I need an audio delivery system. Let's say that I have one-hundred locations across the country where I want to play a 4-minute loop of audio over an in-house PA system, and change the content of that 4-minutes on a weekly basis.
I don't know if it's something that I should try to build myself or if there's something commercially available that will accomplish the task. [more inside]posted by TurkishGolds at 10:56 AM PST - 6 comments

My (widowed) father is divorcing his wife. Dad married her when my daughter was a toddler so she’s the only Grandma she’s had. Grandma has no interest in remaining friendly with our family. How do we tell our daughter that she won’t see her Grandma again without breaking her heart? [more inside]posted by Mamapotomus at 10:25 AM PST - 26 comments

What form did the repatriations that were extracted from Germany after WWI take? I am curious as to whether they were in the form of the heavy durable goods that would have accelerated the recovery of German industry or if they were foodstuffs, direct labor or something else. Where can I find data that would give me a breakdown on what the repatriations consisted of? posted by Raybun at 9:52 AM PST - 8 comments

I have two iPods - a 60 GB for general use and a shuffle for exercise. I want to create playlists that delete songs I skip on the shuffle, but not songs I skip from the 60 or in iTunes. [more inside]posted by andifsohow at 9:39 AM PST - 3 comments

Feral Kittens in My Backyard!
I have five beautiful feral cats in my backyard. Now the landlord wants them gone! Any suggestions on any animal sanctuaries? [more inside]posted by mixer at 9:07 AM PST - 5 comments

For many years our university has touted itself as being "cutting-edge" with technology by requiring students to buy laptops. Obviously we need to be doing more and I'd like some ideas for ways we can be innovative in this sector and reach out to the students, faculty, and staff with new resources that will actually be used. Bonus points for ideas that go against the grain, defend easily for funding, and generally rock. [more inside]posted by genial at 7:57 AM PST - 31 comments

Given multiple contiguous polygons, the coordinates of which are precisely known, how can I combine them into a coordinate set for a single polygon? [more inside]posted by Doofus Magoo at 7:48 AM PST - 18 comments

How do you handle situations when friends or family ask you to do something that you do not think is quite ethical, and yet it really isn't that big a deal? [more inside]posted by tr45vbyt at 7:16 AM PST - 54 comments

I find myself fascinated with the intricacies of typography, punctuation, character sets etc. What books should a newbie read to become a connoisseur on these matters? [more inside]posted by lifeless at 7:13 AM PST - 15 comments

I recently bought a car with a button that allows me to turn the transmission's overdrive on & off. I've read that overdrive only kicks in to provides fuel economy when travelling at highway speeds. Is there ever a reason to turn it off? [more inside]posted by Tasanova at 5:29 AM PST - 15 comments

I was trying to backup my WordPress blog using the "WordPress Database Backup" Plugin, and I tried changing the chmod remote file permissions. Now my blog has vanished. Where did it go? [more inside]posted by Karlos the Jackal at 2:13 AM PST - 9 comments

I'm leaving for a trip in a few days (a domestic, US flight), and I'm worried that my laziness is going to cause troubles with airport security. [more inside]posted by melorama at 10:07 PM PST - 25 comments

I've had a stuffy nose, post-nasal drip, and consequent sore throat -- all due, I think to an allergy. It's taking several days to clear up, and clearing up very slowly. Should I be seeing a doctor about this? [more inside]posted by Malad at 9:49 PM PST - 16 comments

How do you deal with, in a work setting, an incompetent individual or department? For the purposes of this question, assume that they provide an essential service, or would if they actually provided it, and can not be ignored or worked around. And for the pur